PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE; 



A GUIDE TO THE SUCCESSFUL CULTIVATION OP 



FLORISTS' PLANTS, 



FOR THE 



AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL FLORIST. 



/ BY 

PETEK HENDERSON, 

AUTHOR OF " GARDENING FOR PROFIT," " GARDENING FOR PLEASURE." " HAND- 
BOOK OF PLANTS," " GARDEN AND FARM TOPICS," " HOW THE FARM PAYS," ETC. 



NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION. 



ILLUSTRATED. 



■; 








NEW YORK: 

0. JUDD CO., DAVID W. JUDD, Pres't, 

751 BROADWAY. 

1887. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1887, by the 

O. JUDD CO., 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 






C& 

* 












CONTENTS. 



Chapter I. 
How to Become a Florist 9 

Chapter II. 
The Prices of Nursery and Greenhouse Products Abroad and at 

Home --- 15 

Chapter III. 
The Profits of Floriculture 19 

Chapter IV. 
Aspect and Soil -- 22 

Chapter V. 
he Preparation for New, and the Renovation of Old, Lawns 24 

Chapter VI. 
aying out the Flower Garden - 36 

Chapter VII. 
Designs for Ornamental Grounds and Flower Gardens 31 

Chapter VIII. 
Planting of Flower Beds- 46 

Chapter IX. 
Soils for Potting.. 54 

Chapter X. 
Temperature and Moisture 57 

Chapter XI. 
The Potting of Plants 63 

Chapter XII. 
Drainage in Pots 68 

Chapter XIII. 
Expert Garden Workmen 69 

(3) 



4 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

Chapter XIV. 
Cold Frames — Winter Protection 71 

Chapter XV. 
The Construction of Hot-Beds 74 

Chapter XVI. 
Greenhouse Structures 76 

Chapter XVII. 
Wide Greenhouses for Bedding Plants and Rose Growing 93 

Chapter XVIII. 
Glass, Glazing and Shading 98 

Chapter XIX. 
Modes of Heating 100 

Chapter XX. 
Heating by Steam 101 

Chapter XXI. 
Base-Burning Water-Heater. 103 

Chapter XXII. 
Propagation of Plants by Seeds 106 

Chapter XXIII. 
Propagation by Seeds — What Varieties Come True from Seeds? 110 

Chapter XXIV. 
Propagation of Plants by Cuttings 130 

Chapter XXV. 
" Saucer System" of Propagation 129 

Chapter XXVI. 
Propagating Soft- Wooded Plants in Summer 131 

Chapter XXVII. 
Propagation of Roses by Cuttings 135 

Chapter XXVIII. 
Propagating Roses by Grafting and Budding 141 

Chapter XXIX. 
Greenhouse Plants Most in Demand in Market in Spring 143 



CONTENTS. 5 

Chapter XXX. 
The Cultivation of the Verbena.... 148 

Chapter XXXI. 
Cold-Frame Plants Most Sold in Market in Spring 151 

Chapter XXXII. 
Plants Most in Demand for Window Decoration in Winter 153 

Chapter XXXIII. 
Culture of Winter-Flowering Plants for Cut Flowers 154 

Chapter XXXIV. 
Rose-Growing in Winter ^ 155 

Chapter XXXV. 
Bulbs for Winter Flowers 175 

Chapter XXXVI. 
Violets, Chrysanthemums, Carnations, and Mignonette 189 

Chapter XXXVII. 
Bouvardias, Stevias, Eupatoriums, Heliotropes, Poinsettia, and 

other Winter-Flowering Plants 195 

Chapter XXXVIII. 
Orchids ...204 

Chapter XXXIX. 
Chinese Primrose, Geranium, Camellia and Eucharis. 208 

Chapter XL. 
Plants Used for Foliage — Smilax, Asparagus, Ferns, etc 211 

Chapter XLI. 
Plants Used for Decoration of Rooms 213 

Chapter XLII. 
General Collection of Plants Grown Under Glass 215 

Chapter XLIII. 
Construction of Bouquets, Baskets, etc 217 

Chapter XLIV. 
Hanging Baskets 230 

Chapter XLV. 
Parlor or Window Gardening 242 



b' PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

Chapter XLVI. 
Formation of Rock-Work, and Plant s for Rocks 250 

Chapter XLVII. 
Are Plants Injurious to Health ? 252 

Chapter XLVIII. . 
The Injury to Plants by Forcing 254 

Chapter XLIX. 
Nature's Law of Colors.. 256 

Chapter L. 
What Flowers will Grow in the Shade? 259 

Chapter LI. 
Succession Crops in the Greenhouse 261 

Chapter LII. 
Packing Plants. 263 

Chapter LIII. 
Plants by Mail - 265 

Chapter LIV. 
Insects and Diseases affecting Plants 267 

Chapter LV. 
Mildew 280 

Chapter LVI. 
Diary of Operations for the Year 282 

Chapter LVII. 
The Culture of Grape Vines under Glass. , 312 



PREFACE TO FOURTH AND GREATLY 
ENLARGED EDITION. 



It is eight years since trie last edition of "Practical 
Floriculture" was published. Great strides have been 
made in Floriculture in this country, even in that short 
time, particularly in the growing of Roses, Bulbs, and 
other prominent classes of plants for winter flowers, 
in all of which we have endeavored to give as plainly 
as possible the details of the most approved methods 
as practiced in the vicinity of New York City, where 
at the present time, a higher degree of perfection is 
believed to have been attained than in any other sec- 
tion of the country, or, perhaps, in any part of the world. 
London, Paris, and other large European cities may yet 
excel us in the variety and in the greater care of plants 
grown for sale, but by careful observations they seem to 
be now far behind us in the methods of producing the 
leading kinds of winter flowers grown for sale. 

Although prices for both cut flowers and plants are 
even less than when the last edition of this work was 
written, the improvement in green-house structures, to- 
gether with improvements to lessen the labor of culture, 
have kept the business of commercial floriculture, so 
that all things considered, it is quite as profitable as it 
was ten or twelve years ago. There are now believed to 
be over 10,000 florists in the United States, a large per 
centage of whom, if not making colossal fortunes, are 
making comfortable livings in a safe and pleasant 
business. 

PETER HENDERSON. 

Jersey City Heights, N. J.,\ 
July 1st, 1887. J 

(?) 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



CHAPTER I. 
HOW TO BECOME A FLORIST. 

I am often asked the question if it is necessary in order 
to become a florist to enter some large establishment 
for a few years, or whether it is possible to learn 
from reading only. I reply, if it can be afforded, it will 
be best, by all means, to serve at least two years in 
some well-conducted establishment — one that has been 
long enough established to have made the business a suc- 
cess, for the best index of ability in any business is suc- 
cess. I have said, if it can be afforded, as for the first 
two years, unless a youth proves himself unusually smart, 
he will not likely receive more than enough to pay his 
board, for he is simply an apprentice under instructions, 
who has come with the design of leaving when he has 
acquired a knowledge of the trade, and just at the time 
when he begins to be of use to his employer. 

But to those to whom it would be inconvenient to place 
themselves thus under instructions, a knowledge of the 
business could be unquestionably obtained from books, 
particularly if actual practice were followed conjointly 
with the reading. Tbere are now thousands of my 
patrons (about one tenth of whom are ladies), located in 
nearly every State of the Union, who have worked them- 
selves into the florists' business exclusively by reading 
(9) 



10 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

and their own practice, having had no opportunity for 
other instruction. In not a few cases some of these have 
got ahead of what are known as professional gardeners, 
those who have had no other experience than that received 
in private gardens in Europe, which by no means fits them 
for the American style of commercial floriculture. The 
increase of a taste for flowers for the past thirty years has 
been truly wonderful. A gentleman who has a turn for 
statistics in this peculiar line, informed me that he had 
begun to procure information from all parts of the coun- 
try of the numbers engaged in the trade, together with 
the capital employed. He said that his investigations 
for this locality, taken in the rough, extending in the 
radius of ten miles from the center of New York City, 
proved that the number of florists' establishments was 
about 500, and the capital used in stock and struc- 
tures upwards of $6,000,000. If the number of estab- 
lishments is nearly correct — and there is no reason to 
doubt it — I am certain that the value is not overestima- 
ted, as we have at least half a dozen establishments where 
the capital used in stock and buildings must be nearly 
$100,000 each. And this, too, in New York and its 
suburbs, where the taste is lower than it is in either 
Boston or Philadelphia. In those places, no doubt, 
their excellent Horticultural Societies have done much 
to refine the tastes of the people, and it is to be regretted 
that neither New York nor its adjacent cities, with over 
two millions of people, have, until quite recently, had a 
Horticultural Society, and even that at the date I write, 
1887, it is not to be compared with either that of Boston 
or Philadelphia. 

GARDENING AS A BUSINESS — HOW TO BEGIN. 

In response to continued inquiries from those who wish 
to engage in gardening as a business, I propose in this 
chapter, to give briefly, yet comprehensively, such advice 



HOW TO BECOME A FLO K 1ST. 11 

and instruction as my long experience, together with my 
intercourse and correspondence with hundreds engaged 
in the various branches of gardening, enable me to offer. 
I find that the persons who desire to begin gardening as 
a business, are generally such as have had their tastes 
turned in that direction by being amateur cultivators. 
Their gratuitous distributions of slips, seeds, or roots, to 
sometimes not over-grateful recipients, starts the idea 
that "what is not worth paying for is not worth having" 
is as true of garden products as of other things, and that 
they had better sell than give. As selling means busi- 
ness, the question then is, how to best begin the business 
to make it pay. My advice to all such inquirers is, to 
keep away from large cities, unless they have a large 
capital and a thorough practical knowledge of the busi- 
ness. The beginner with limited means, and more limited 
knowledge of the business, would be quite unable to 
compete with those who have been long established, and 
such are to be found in nearly all cities of 100,000 in- 
habitants, or over. On the other hand, in cities of 5,000, 
10,000, 15,000, or 20,000 inhabitants, the business may 
be begun, and profitably carried on, with but little capital 
and a moderate amount of knowledge at starting. How 
to start is the all important question. In my work on 
commercial gardening — " Gardening for Profit" — I have 
given advice on the culture of vegetables and fruits as a sep- 
arate and distinct branch of the business. Further experi- 
ence has led me to believe that it would often be of great 
advantage to the beginner in small towns to undertake the 
cultivation of small fruits, flowers, and vegetables com- 
bined. In a town of, say, 5,000 inhabitants, the profits 
from the sale of flowers alone would hardly be enough to 
warrant a beginning, while an acre or two of well-grown 
fruits or vegetables in addition would make quite a re- 
spectable business. We will suppose, then, that a frugal 
man, able and willing to work hard, has a capital of 



i'Z PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

$1,500 to $2,000; let him select not more than two acres, 
either on a lease of, say, 10 years, or by purchase, as near 
to the business part of the town as practicable. The soil 
should be of a quality that has borne good crops of Hay, 
Corn, Potatoes, or other farm produce. Do not be induced 
to go far from the business center of the town, because 
land is cheap there ; it is better to pay $100 rent per acre 
for, say, two acres, a mile from the center of the town, than 
to buy land at that price three or four miles distant for 
such a purpose. It is a fact beyond all question, that 
whenever fine specimens of fruit, flowers, or vegetables 
are offered for sale, a demand is created that did not be- 
fore exist, and would not then have existed unless these 
articles were placed before the eyes of the people. Pre- 
suming, then, that the one or two acres is secured, if a 
dwelling-house, stable, or other buildings are to be 
erected, let them be placed, if practicable, on the north- 
east corner, so that the part of the land to be cultivated, 
or where greenhouses are to be erected, be not shaded. 
If flowers are to be grown, of course a greenhouse or 
some place where plants can be protected (see Greenhouse 
Structures) is indispensable, and the proper construction 
of that is a matter of importance. Perhaps the most ap- 
propriate size for a beginner is one twenty feet wide by 
fifty feet in length, which may be heated either by smoke- 
fiues or hot water circulating in iron pipes. At present 
prices the house twenty feet wide would cost, if heated 
by flue, about $9 per running foot ; if by hot- water, $15 
per running foot. The details of construction are given 
in other chapters of this work. This greenhouse, having 
an area of 1,000 square feet, should produce a crop of 
flowers and plants, when once properly stocked, which 
should sell at retail for at least $1,000 each year. The 
stock of plants to begin with, purchased from any whole- 
sale florist, would cost from $100 to $200, according to 
kinds. The annual coat of fuel, labor, etc., after it is in 



HOW TO BECOME A FLORIST. 13 

running order, should not exceed $300 per year. It will 
be seen that the profit on the investment is good, if the 
work is mainly done by the owner ; but a glass structure 
of this size would not pay to hire a man to work it, 
though it would be large enough at first for the wants of 
an ordinary population of 5,000. But such a population 
will buy far larger amounts in fruits and vegetables, and 
will probably buy three times as many and give more for 
them if fresh and home grown, than they would for 
those that are packed and shipped from a distance. In 
fruits, Strawberries hold the most prominent place, and 
a quarter of an acre will contain, at two feet apart each 
way, about 2,500 plants. If these are planted by August 
1st, from plants layered in pots in July, the ground 
having been properly prepared, at least 1,000 quarts can 
be gathered as the first crop ; this is a low estimate, the 
best cultivators claiming to gather one quart per hill of 
the large fruiting kinds. Next in importance in small 
fruits come Raspberries, Blackberries, Grapes and Cur- 
rants, with which another quarter of an acre might be 
stocked. This would leave, if there were two acres at the 
start, an acre and a half to be devoted to vegetables. Of 
this, one-eighth of an acre might be devoted to Asparagus, 
and the same amount to Rhubarb, Beets and Onions, Cab- 
bages, Cauliflower, and Lettuce, and to Celery ; Cucum- 
bers and Melons, Tomatoes and Beans, may each have a 
quarter of an acre, while one-eighth of an acre may be 
devoted to other things not provided for. The cultiva- 
tion of this quantity of land with such crops, together 
with the care of greenhouse, would require the labor of 
two active men during the summer months, and proba- 
bly at some part of the time, three, but in winter, one 
man could easily do it all. One horse would be sufficient 
for cultivating and carting manure, etc., but the first 
plowing of the land in spring should be done by two 
hor.-es, so that the work may be done deep and thoroughly. 



14 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

As to the cultivation of fruits and vegetables, it is 
not my object in this volume to give detailed directions 
"how to do it;" for these reference may be made to my 
work "Gardening for Profit," new edition published in 
1887. I merely wish to show that in small towns the 
combined culture of fruits, flowers and vegetables can 
be more profitably carried on than the culture of either 
by itself. My first attempt at commercial gardening 
was a combination of the business of market gardener 
and florist, and even for the great market of New York 
I believe it was more profitably conducted than if each 
had been run separately, for on wet or stormy days, when 
they could not work in the open vegetable grounds, the 
men were turned into the greenhouses, where their labor 
was just as profitable and valuable as in the open field. 
But while arguing for the benefits to be derived from 
this combination of the several departments of a kindred 
business, let it be distinctly understood that it must be 
done at one place, so that all can be under the eye of 
the owner. 

Thirty years ago, after the successful culture of a gar- 
den of some ten acres, combined with quite an extensive 
greenhouse business, my ambition led me to think that 
if I made $3,000 a year from ten acres, I might as readily 
make §9,000 from thirty acres, so 1 undertook the culti- 
vation of two other places, each some ten acres in extent, 
but about a mile apart. A trial of thr^e years showed me 
that I had made a serious mistake, for I found that I was 
actually making less from my thirty acres than I had 
made from my original ten, and yet I had experience, 
capital, and, I believe, as much energy and business 
capacity as the average of mankind. Had the thirty acres 
been all in one spot, the result might have been different, 
but it is probable that the profits would not have been in 
the same proportion, as if ten acres only had been culti- 
vated. This lesson to me was a salutary one, and I never 



PKICES OF JS'UKSEKY PKODUCTS. 15 

hesitated to state my own case to any one who informs me 
of his intention of attempting to carry on gardening in 
two or more different places at once. 



CHAPTER II 



THE PRICES OF NURSERY AND GREENHOUSE PRO- 
DUCTS ABROAD AND AT HOME. 

While the price of labor is from one-third to one-half 
more in this country than in Europe, nearly all the pro- 
ducts of the nursery, greenhouse or garden are told 
lower here than there — not merely lower, but in a major- 
ity of cases at less than half the price. In nursery stock, 
I have the authority of Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, 
N. Y., for stating that, in many leading articles in fruit 
trees, the difference in prices in favor of this country 
are as follows : In England, Standard Ajjple trees are 
quoted at $18 per 100 ; the same quality are sold here at 
$12 per 100. Dwarf Pear trees there sell at 135 per 100 ; 
here at $15 per 100. Standard Pear, Plum and Cherry 
trees average in England $18 per 100 ; here $15 per 100. 
Apricots and Nectarines are sold for about the same price 
lure and in England, but Peach trees, which are sold 
here at an average of $70 per 1,000, are sold there at $150 
per 1,000. The general assortment of ornamental trees 
and shrubs shows a corresponding average in favor of 
lower prices here. In greenhouse or bedding plants, the 
difference in favor of our lower rates here, is even greater, 
both at wholesale and retail. Carnations, or Pinks, 
which are quoted in England as specially low at $20 per 
100, are sold here at $12 per 100. Ferns sold here at $6 
per !f>0, are offered at $8 there; Tuberoses and Gladioluses 
that are now sold here at $2 and $3, are quoted there at 



16 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

double these rates (in fact, their supply of Tuberoses 
is now obtained from us), while, to take the average of 
bedding or greenhouse plants, that may average here $6 
per 100 to the trade, are offered to us by the wholesale 
English houses as specially low at 18 per 100. 

Owing to the unusually dry weather a few years since, 
nearly all our stock Fuchsias were destroyed, so that we 
had to import from London ; the price paid was $25 per 
100, the very same quality that we sell at $12 per 100. 
In sales at retail, particularly for new plants, the prices 
paid in Europe are fully four times more than we charge 
here. For example, a new Rose, when first offered, is sold 
in London at £1 Is. (about $6) the plant ; here, the first 
sales of the same plant are at from $2 to $3 each. New 
Fuchsias or Geraniums are rarely sold in London at less 
than $2 each ; here we think we are getting well paid if 
we get one-fourth of that sum. In addition to the 
greater price paid for the article itself, they invariably 
saddle us with the expense of boxing and packing, often 
no small item, which is rarely charged by our florists. 
The wonder is, that Europe can ever sell to us at all, par- 
ticularly when it is known that at least one-half of the 
imported plants are lost by injury sustained in transit. 
The question arises, how can our nurserymen and florists 
sell so much lower, and make the business pay — for that 
they do make it pay quite as well as European grow- 
ers do, there is but little doubt. The answer to this 
is, the known fact that the high cost of labor has long 
ago forced us to use our ingenuity in simplifying our 
work. What we do with the plow, most of the English 
gardeners still think it necessary to do with the spade. 
What we do with our horse or hand cultivator, they still 
do with the hoe, and often a very primitive sort of hoe 
at that. Where we use stakes and labels that are made 
by machinery, they, in many cases, yet make them by 
hand, when a single one actually costs as much in labor 



PRICES OF NURSERY PRODUCTS. 17 

as do a hundred when made by machinery. When it 
comes to the manual operations, necessary in the propa- 
gating and growing of greenhouse plants, the same waste 
of labor is apparent. Our average propagator will take off, 
make and set in bench 2,000 cuttings per day ; at the rate 
I saw the propagators of two of the leading establishments 
in London working, when there a few years ago, I doubt 
if the average was 500 a day, and when we tell them that 
some of our crack workmen can place 10,000 rooted cut- 
tings in pots in ten hours, they honestly think it false, for 
probably not more than one-half of that number has ever 
been done in the same time there. I do not wish to be 
understood as saying that the English gardener cannot 
move as rapidly as the American can, but custom there 
clogs his hands with unnecessary work, to accomplish 
the object desired. The other day a man of forty years of 
age presented himself to me, with credentials from a 
long-established Edinburgh firm, stating him to be an 
experienced propagator and cultivator of plants. To test 
his capabilities, I handed him a lot of Rose cuttings to 
prepare, every one of which he cut at an eye or joint, in 
the approved orthodox style of a half a century ago ; 
all propagators of experience here have long known that 
this is not only a great waste of materials, but a still 
greater waste of time, and we never do it unless in par- 
ticular cases that very rarely occur. I might mention 
scores of similar operations which are performed abroad 
in a manner which seems to us as primitive as this. 

Those who have studied the subject, tell us that from 
the specimens of the "stone period," at the Smithsonian 
Institution at Washington, there is reason to believe that 
it took some thousands of years for our "rude fore- 
fathers " to discover that the handles could be better fas- 
tened to their hammers of stone, by drilling a hole through 
them, than by lashing them to the handles with thongs ; 
and it is a matter of not very ancient history, that in 



J8 practical floriculture. 

parts of the South of Ireland, the plow was attached to the 
horses' tails, and that a great row was the consequence 
when some meddling innovator suggested a change. It 
appears that mankind, in all ages, is naturally conserva- 
tive, and it takes years, sometimes centuries, to get out 
of old ruts. If, while paying for labor one-third more, 
we can sell our garden products here nearly one-half 
lower than they are sold in Europe, the conclusion is in- 
evitable, that we have learned how to make our labor 
more effective than they do. 

The adage, that "A prophet is not without honor save 
in his own country," is true in this matter as in many 
others ; for we find that most Americans having horti- 
cultural tastes, when visiting Europe buy largely there, 
their plants costing them twice as much for half dead 
trees or plants, as they would pay at home for healthy 
ones. It is often the case, especially with fruits, that 
the varieties purchased are utterly useless for our climate. 
For example, the Jargonelle Pear, Eibston Pippin Apple, 
and Keen's Seedling Strawberry, still hold a first place 
in the English gardens, while experience has shown them 
to be worthless here. So with many ornamental trees ; 
beautiful as are the varieties of English Holly and Khodo- 
dendrons, hundreds of Americans have poured down 
anathemas on the heads of European nurserymen for sell- 
ing them as " hardy," plants that the frosts of our North- 
ern States, or the hot sun of the South, utterly destroyed 
the first season. 



IKE PROFITS OF FLORICULTURE. 19 

CHAPTER III. 
THE PROFITS OF FLORICULTURE. 

It is much easier to estimate the profits of the products 
of the soil, be they in fruits or vegetables, than to define 
by any certain rule what the profits of our greenhouse 
floriculture are. In fact, we can only approximate to it, 
because the conditions in which the operations are carried 
on at different places, or the different articles grown, 
make anything like a general average for the whole coun- 
try impossible. But, as we have heretofore done, we will 
confine ourselves to the district of New York, which may 
be taken at the present time as a fair representation of 
the whole country. 

The capital required in starting this department of 
horticulture I consider need not be so much as in that of 
either nursery, vegetable, or fruit growing, and the 
chances of moderate success I believe, from my observa- 
tions, to be far greater. I say moderate success, for the 
chances of making a colossal fortune in this are by no 
means so good as in the regular nursery business, while 
to offset this the chances of failure are less, and the 
business is pleasanter and less exhaustive to follow. I 
have hardly ever known a man who has started in the 
florist's business to fail, unless he brought failure on him- 
self by his own imprudence ; while I have known scores 
to fail in the vegetable and nursery business, from causes 
entirely beyond their control. A frugal man, with a 
knowledge of the business and $1,000 capital, may safely 
start in this vicinity, or in any vicinity where there is a 
town of 10,000 inhabitants of average intelligence and 
culture. But the difficult question with all at starting 
is, how best to make that $1,000 available. Of course ex- 



20 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

pensive buildings, such as we describe in some of the 
chapters on greenhouse structures, are beyond his means, 
and something cheaper must be adopted. (See chapter 
on Cheap Greenhouses). The general principle on which 
these greenhouses are formed is in all respects the same, 
and the beginner with limited means, instead of erecting 
three houses, need erect only one, which should not be 
more than fifty feet long and of a width of eleven feet in 
the clear. The proportions of height, etc., will be found 
in the drawing on page 77. The sides may be formed of 
cedar or chestnut posts planked up to the required height, 
having a lining of tarred paper between the boards. In 
this way, at present prices, a structure of this kind, with 
Hue, benches and all complete, need not cost more than six 
or eight dollars per running foot, or 1300 or $400 for a 
house of fifty feet. But something else will be needed 
besides the house, and sunken pits or cold frames should 
be erected parallel with the east side of the greenhouse 
and connected with it. A portion, say half, of these 
should be excavated to the depth of two feet, and used 
as a sunken pit for Roses, etc. ; the cold frame portion, 
which is not sunken but made level with the soil, can be 
used to grow the hardier sorts of flowers, as Pansies, 
Daisies, Pinks, etc. 1 here again repeat that the Eose, 
unless grown to force for winter flowers, is easily injured 
by fire heat, which it must necessarily receive if placed in 
the greenhouse, in which are grown a variety of plants 
that require fire heat. 

These pits and cold frames should be covered up care- 
fully, either with shutters or mats, during severe weather 
in winter, and care taken that all w r ater is thoroughly 
drained off from them. The sunken pits and cold frames 
of twenty-five feet each will cost, say, $100, which, to- 
gether with the purchase of stock and coal to last through 
the winter, would make the expenditure from June to 
November, $000 or $700, leaving $300 or $400 for ex- 



THE PROFITS OF FLORICULTURE. 21 

j)enses in winter, or until sales open in spring. If the 
plants have been handled with even average skill, the 
sales should by June give a profit of at least fifty per cent, 
on the capital invested, supposing the plants to be sold 
at the average retail rates. 

I am not prepared to say what the profits on the capi- 
tal invested are when business is done on a large scale, 
the articles grown, the manner of selling, the economy 
of management, being so varied that in this, as in all 
other occupations in life, we have all degrees of success. 
But the broad fact is beyond question, that the profits of 
the business will compare favorably with the general run 
of business in which the same capital is invested. 

One fact, very flattering to our florists in this country 
is, that although our plants on an average are sold lower 
than they are in England, and our new plants at less than 
one-fourth of the prices obtained there, the business is 
more profitable here than there. Why is this ? the 
reader may doubtingly ask. Simply that our necessities 
with regard to labor compel us to apply our common 
sense to the work, and we cut loose from many of the 
established rules with which many of the English florists 
are yet stupidly trammeled. 

In two of the London establishments in 1872, having 
each about 100,000 feet of glass, the average number of 
hands employed during the year was fifty. The same quan- 
tity of glass would be worked here in a style quite equal 
to theirs, as far as the quality of the plants goes, with less 
than one- third of that number. I am informed by a 
gentleman who was for many years connected with one 
of these English establishments, that the profits did not 
exceed ten per cent, of the sales. I am afraid that the 
smallest operator of us all here, would soon quit the work 
if it gave no better results. 

For the past fifteen years, cut flower growing, partic- 
ularly the growing of Kose-buds in winter, has been more 



; I PRACTICAL FLOKICULTt'KE. 

profitable than the growing of plants, and is so even at 
the date of writing. While plant growing for market has 
probably averaged a profit of thirty per cent, on the invest- 
ment, Eose growing may have averaged forty or fifty per 
cent., and, in consequence, the structures for Eose grow- 
ing and other cut flowers for winter are increasing much 
more rapidly than those for plant growing. This will lead 
to the natural result, an over-production, and my advice 
to beginners in all small cities and towns is, to begin a 
general florist's business, adding cut flowers to it if need 
be, but do not risk all your capital on any one specialty — 
at least, not until you have proved beyond question that 
you can make such specialty profitable. 

What is true of the florist's business I believe to be 
equally true of the nursery trade, and it is much to be 
doubted if that business anywhere in ail Europe is so sim- 
ply, yet profitably, carried on as it is in the great nurseries 
of Eochester and Geneva. 



CHAPTEE IV. 
ASPECT AND SOIL. 

The aspect of the flower garden, when choice can be 
made, should be towards the south, or southeast, and if 
sheltered by hills, or belts of timber, from the northwest, 
many plants and trees can be safely grown that could 
not otherwise succeed without that shelter. Such a sit- 
uation also permits operations to be begun earlier in 
spring, and continued later in the fall, in some locations 
making the season from two to three weeks longer than 
if the aspect had been to the north or northwest. 

The soil in flower gardening, as in all horticultural 
operations, is the basis of success, and is of even more im- 



ASPECT AXD SOIL. 23 

portance than aspect or location; and whether it is the 

man of wealth, looking for a site upon which to build, 
and surround his home with a flowery landscape, or the 
working gardener about to become florist, and venturing 
his hard earnings in a first essay in business, let him first 
be certain that old " Mother Earth," in the spot about to 
be chosen, is in such condition as will reward his labors 
with success. Soils are so varied that it is difficult indeed 
to convey to the inexperienced by description what the 
proper character should be. To say to the uninitiated, 
that the best soil for all garden purposes is a sandy loam, 
not less than ten inches deep, conveys very little infor- 
mation, unless he is first made to understand what a 
sandy loam is. The subsoil, or stratum of earth imme- 
diately underlying the top soil, or loam, usually deter- 
mines the quality of the soil. If it be gravelly, or sandy, 
then the top soil will almost invariably be a sandy loam ; 
but if the subsoil is of putty-like clay, then the top soil 
will usually be of the same nature, and be what is known 
as clayey loam. One great advantage usually in soils 
having a gravelly or sandy subsoil is, that the water passes 
off freely, rendering the expensive operation of draining 
unnecessary, while in all soils with clayey subsoil, drain- 
ing must be done, and thoroughly, or failure will cer- 
tainly be the result. Those most to be avoided are what 
are known as " thin soils ;" these may be either of sand, 
gravel, or clay, being in many places little more than 
" subsoil," without its stratum of loam. No process of 
manuring or cultivation can ever bring such soils into a 
condition to compete with those naturally good; for be 
it remembered that manures answer only a temporary 
purpose, and exert no permanent change in soil. Our 
richest market gardens, when left unfilled, relapse into 
their normal state in three years. Thus it is in many 
parts of the Southern States, that plantations are said to 
be "worn out" in a few years, while in fact it is simply the 



24 PRACTICAL FLORICULTUEE. 

supply of food to the plants that has heen exhausted, the 
organic matter formed by decaying leaves or sods having 
been expended by the crops. 

Supply this want by fertilizers, and you again have the 
land in its primitive fertile condition ; but this must be 
continued, or the crops will again show indications of the 
soil being " worn out," but quicker, of course, on a thin 
soil than on a deep one. Hence the importance of select- 
ing, when a choice can be had, a deep soil, with a subsoil 
of sand or gravel. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE PREPARATION FOR NEW AND THE RENOVATION 
OF OLD LAWNS. 

It may be questioned whether or not the subjects of 
Lawns or Landscape Gardening, come under the province 
of the florist; it may not in his own business directly, but 
hundreds of florists are appealed to every season by their 
patrons for information on this matter, so that even the 
brief directions lam able to give, I know will be welcomed 
by many. 

The preparation for the lawn is usually preliminary to 
the layiugout of the flower-beds in grounds having pre- 
tentions to the modern style of gardening. It is the 
foundation of all subsequent operations, and if imperfectly 
done, it can hardly ever be remedied afterwards. 

We not unfrequently see, after a dwelling costing, 5, 
10, 20, or 30,000 dollars is erected, that the grounds sur- 
rounding it are left to the tender mercy of some ignorant 
pretender to grade and put in shape. The educated, in- 
telligent architect's duties, in many cases end with the 
completion of the building, and the "'garden architect" 
— likely some pretentious laborer — is installed to grade for 
the lawn, and a common consequence is, that the beauty 



NEW AND OLD LAWNS. 25 

of the place may be forever marred — for this matter 
really often requires as much intelligence and good judg- 
ment, as the construction of the dwelling itself. One of 
the first conditions of a perfect lawn is, that the land be 
drained properly either naturally or artificially ; if the 
subsoil is sand or gravel, so that water can quickly pass 
through it, then there will be no need for artificial drains, 
but if there is a stratum of adhesive clay for a subsoil, 
then drains at every fifteen or twenty feet are indispensa- 
ble. As the formation of the lawn is the foundation of all 
subsequent operations, it is imperative that it be carefully 
done ; for if badly done at first, it cannot be changed or 
altered, unless to the great detriment of trees or shrubs 
that have been planted, or flower beds or walks that have 
been laid out. 

The first thing to be done is, to get the ground shaped 
to the desired grade, taking care in grading that when 
hills and rocks are removed, sufficient subsoil is also re- 
moved to be replaced with top soil, so that at least five 
inches of good soil will overlay the whole in all places, 
and where trees are to be planted, there should be twice 
that deptii of good soil. When the grading is finished, 
if the nature of the ground requires it, drains should be 
laid wherever necessary ; then the whole should be thor- 
oughly plowed, a subsoil plow following in the wake of a 
common plow, until it is completely pulverized. A heavy 
harrow should then be applied until the surface is thor- 
oughly fined down ; all stones, roots, etc., should be re- 
moved so that a smooth surface may be obtained. We 
have used, with great effect and saving of labor, a com- 
paratively new implement known as the " Disc Smooth- 
ing Harrow'," which fines and levels the land equal to a 
steel rake ; and whenever large areas are in preparation 
for lawns, or in fact for any field culture, requiring a fine, 
smooth surface, this implement will be found to be of 
great value. 



'?.G PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

When the seed is .sown, a light harrow, such as 
the "Disc Smoothing Harrow," should be again ap- 
plied, so as to sink the seed two inches or so in the 
soil, and after that a thorough rolling given, so that the 
surface is made as smooth and firm as possible. In the 
latitude of New York, the seed may be sown any time 
during the months of April and May, and will form a 
good lawn by July or August if the preparation has been 
good, or in about one hundred days from the time of sow- 
ing. If sown in the hot months of June or July, a 
sprinkling of oats should be sown at the same time, so 
that the shade given by the oats will protect the young 
grass from the sun. Lawns are very often sown during 
the early fall months (September being the best) with ex- 
cellent results. For small plots, of course, digging, trench- 
ing and raking must be done instead of plowing, subsoil- 
ing and harrowing, and the surface after sowing should be 
patted down with the back of a spade or rolled down with 
a roller. On sloping banks, it is often necessary to use 
sod, as the rains wash the soil off before the grass seed 
has time to germinate. It is sometimes even necessary, 
in sodding very steep banks, to use wooden pins, eight or 
ten inches in length, to pin the sods in place, to prevent 
them from being washed down by excessive rains before 
the grass roots have had time to fasten in the soil. In 
small yards, sodding is often done so as to get immediate 
results ; but in all such cases great care should be taken 
to see that the sods used are of the proper quality, other- 
wise it is much better to wait a few months for the lawn 
seed to produce the lawn. 

TO GET A LAWK ON A SLOPING BANK. 

Unless under very favorable circumstances, it is ex- 
ceedingly difficult to get a growth of grass from the seed 
on a bank sloping at an angle of even fifteen degrees, be- 



NEW A XI) OLD LAWNS. JJ7 

cause a heavy shower of rain on the sloping bank would 
run off the fresh soil before the young grass had formed 
enough roots to mat it sufficiently to hold it in place. 
To remedy this, the following plan will be found to be 
most effective: To an area of twenty by fifteen feet — 
300 square feet — or in that proportion, be the area large 
or small, take two quarts of lawn grass seed and mix it 
with four bushels of rather stiff soil, to which add two 
bushels of cow-manure. Mix the whole with water to 
the consistency of thin mortar. This mixture is to be 
spread on the sloping bank, first having scratched the 
surface of the bank with a rake. It should be applied as 
thinly as will make a smooth and even surface — in short, 
just as plaster is spread on a wall. The grass seed will 
rapidly start and quickly make a sod of the richest green, 
its smooth, hard surface preventing its being furrowed 
out by the rains. It will be necessary, until the grass 
ha i fully covered the surface, to keep the plastered bank 
covered with hay or straw to prevent the plaster from 
drying or cracking. If the weather is dry a watering will 
hasten its growth ; if sown at a season when the temper- 
ature will average seventy degrees, a green sward will be 
obtained in fifteen days. By this method, using orchard 
or other strong growing grasses, no cheaper plan eould be 
adopted to keep up railroad or other embankments. 

As a guide for the proper quantity of seed required to 
form a perfect lawn (sown in the usual way, after the 
ground has been properly prepared, as already described), 
we may state that one quart of lawn grass seed is suf- 
ficient to sow an area of twenty feet by fifteen feet — 300 
square feet — or to cover an acre, four bushels will be re- 
quired. It should be borne in mind that, in order to pro- 
duce the best results, grass seed for lawns should be sown 
twice as thickly as if sown for hay. In fact, if very rapid 
results are wanted, a lawn will be much quicker obtained 
by using three times more seed per acre. In a lawn of about 



28 PRACTICAL PLORICrLTURE. 

an acre in extent, which we made lately, six bushels of 
lawn grass seed was sown on the 25th of April, harrowed 
Avell in with the ordinary farm harrow, then rolled firmly 
with a heavy farm roller. The result was that by July 
1st, or about sixty days from the date of sowing, a per- 
fect lawn was obtained, having had to be twice mowed 
over by machine previous to that date. 

The question of fertilizers for the lawn is an important 
one. If the soil is naturally a deep, rich loam it is not 
necessary that any manure at all be used the first season 
of sowing, although in every case it would be an advan- 
tage, and is really essential if the soil is poor or light. 
Perhaps the best way to apply well-rotted stable manure 
is to spread it thick enough to cover the ground after 
plowing or digging, and then harrow or rake it in, but 
when cost is of no special object, the best plan to insure 
permanency for the lawn is to use, as above, from 2,500 
to 3,000 pounds of coarse, ground bone per acre, or in that 
proportion over lesser areas, as the bone decomposes 
slowly. This quantity, harrowed or raked in deeply, 
would insure a "velvet lawn," under ordinary circum- 
stances, for six or eight years without f urther application 
of manures. 

When the land has not been fertilized before sowing, 
it is necessay to use some top dressing of manure each 
season to keep up the fertility of the lawn, and nothing 
is better for this purpose than to spread over it late in the 
fall (November or December), short stable manure, 
enough to partially cover the surface. This should be 
allowed to remain on until such time as the grass shows 
signs of starting in the spring, when the rough portion 
of the manure should be raked off and a heavy roller 
applied, so that the surface of the lawn be rendered 
smooth and firm for the mower. If the top dressing of 
stable manure has been omitted in the fall, fine bone dust 
and nitrate of soda in equal parts, or any good brand of 



NEW AND OLD LAWNS. 29 

"lawn enricher," mixed with finely tufted coal or Mood 
ashes, in equal parts, may be sowed on the lawn, about 
as thick as sand is usually strewn on the floor, and rolled 
down, or where the soil is light or sandy, clay or marl, 
broken fine and sown on while dry, will be found excel- 
lent to encourage the growth of grass. 

Mowing should be begun in spring as soon as the grass 
is two or three inches high, and continued every seven 
or eight days until the cessation of growth in fall. If the 
lawn is gone over with a mower once a week, the clip- 
pings are best left on, as the sun quickly shrivels them 
up so that they never appear unsightly ; but if mowing 
is delayed two or three weeks, then the grass must be 
raked off, which should always be done with the regular 
lawn rake, as the ordinary toothed rake injures the grass. 

It sometimes happens that the soil contains seeds of 
perennial plants, such as Dandelion, Dock or Thistles, 
which seriously interfere with the beauty of the lawn. 
When such occur, there is no other remedy than the slow 
process of cutting them out with a knife ; it is not neces- 
sary to take them out by the root. If the " crowns" of 
these perennial weeds are cut just below the surface, they 
will not grow again. It is a common belief that the seeds 
of these w T eeds are in the grass seed. This is rarely the 
case ; they are generally wafted from adjoining lands and 
will often lie dormant, if buried deeply in the soil, for 
years, until the preparation of the soil for the lawn brings 
them near the surface. 

To Renovate Lawns.— Lawns that have become worn 
out by neglect or other causes, and where it is not con- 
venient or desirable to renew them by plowing up, may 
be greatly benefited by running a light harrow over, if 
the surface is large, or by a sharp, steel rake for smaller 
areas, after stirring the surface by such means judiciously, 
so as not to too severely hurt the roots. Lawn grass 
should be sown over the surface after harrowing or raking 



30 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

in about half the quantity advised for new lawns. After 
sowing, the surface should he harrowed or raked over, 
and firmly rolled or beaten down ; but if spurious grass 
or other weeds have got possession of the lawn, then this 
way of renovation would not be satisfactory, and it had 
better be plowed under and sown afresh, in the manner 
already given for the formation of the lawn. 



\ 

CHAPTER VI. 
LAYING OUT THE FLOWER GARDEN. 

In the vicinity of New York, the taste displayed in 
this matter is certainly not very flattering to us ; com- 
pared with that shown in the suburbs of London or Paris, 
we are wofully behind. Our city merchants annually 
build hundreds of houses, the cost of many of which 
range from $10,000 to $50,000 each, but the flower 
garden surrounding the house is in nineteen cases out of 
twenty left to the tender mercies of some ignoramus who 
styles himself a "Landscaper," and who generally man- 
ages before he is through to make the proprietor appear 
to be utterly devoid of taste, if not utterly ridiculous. 
A worthy of this stamp held kingly sway as a "Land- 
scaper" in the vicinity of New York a few years ago, 
and has left behind him some wonderful specimens of 
his art; he was great on ' k Sarpentine " walks, as he 
called them, and had a true artist's horror of straight 
lines. It would have been useless for Euclid to have at- 
tempted to demonstrate that the nearest distance between 
two points was a straight line. Terry knew better than 
that, and curved accordingly. One of the most marked 
of his efforts was made in behalf of a "shoddy" king, 
who had built a splendid mansion in about the middle of 



LAYING OUT THE FLOWER GARDEN. 31 

a four-acre lot. The carnage drive, entering at each side 
of the plot, was made in his host " Sarpentine " style, 
but the centre approach, a six-foot walk for pedestrians, 
started at a point in the centre of the block, and was 
twisted like a corkscrew until it reached the hall door. 
The portly owner submitted like a martyr for awhile, but 
eventually snubbed Terry's science, obliterated the walk, 
and got a more expeditious, if less artistic method of get- 
ting to his home ; his dogs and children, having less rever- 
ence for Terry's art, had long before taken the initiative. 
But this is only telling what not to do, which perhaps is 
as necessary as to tell what to do in the brief space that 
this subject can be treated of in this work. The follow- 
ing remarks and drawings are by the late Eugene A. Bau- 
mann, Esq., of Rahway, N. J., whose ability as a practical 
landscape gardener was perhaps second to none in this 
country, as the thousands of acres of tasteful grounds 
laid out by him in this and adjacent States, during the 
past twenty years, will attest. 



CHAPTER VII. 

DESIGNS FOR ORNAMENTAL GROUNDS AND FLOWER 
GARDENS. 

DESIGN FOR A CITY OR VILLAGE LOT. 

Figure 1 gives a plan for a city or village lot of 100x200 
feet, fronting south, but without stable or carriage-house. 

The dwelling at 1 is supposed to be without area, or 
entrance to the basement and cellars from outside, but 
with the water-table, or first floor, raised above the 
ground some five feet, and the earth from the foundations 
and cellars employed for a terrace, rising about two and 
a half feet above the ordinary level, which is understood 
to be some two feet above that of the public road. 



32 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

This plan is entirely in the geometric style, or with 
straight walks exclusively, as we think that, considering 
everything,, this arrangement is the most suitable for 
small lots. 

What, indeed, is the best use to which to put so little 
room ? Fruit trees, vegetables, and large pieces of lawn 
;ire not what are here required ; fruit and vegetables the 
proprietor may procure at the market cheaper than he 
could raise them ; lawns, or grass plots, would not be ac- 
cessible for any amusement or exercise in damp or rainy 
weather. Therefore I consider well-made walks, that may 
be dry in the afternoon of a rainy day, much more needed 
for the promenade of persons, who, having been busy all 
day, require some exercise and fresh air in the evening. 
Fine shrubbery, flower-beds, and shade are also required. 

In a planting of the right sort, it requires not much 
depth to form good belts to protect the place against the 
cold winds, or sometimes against cool neighbors. 

A large display of flowers does not require a very large 
space of ground, and if plenty of flowers should be 
wanted, as is generally the case, their quantity may be in- 
creased by a judicious selection of flowering shrubbery. 

For a more sheltered, shady walk, I should, in such a 
place, suggest a well-built arbor, covered on the top with 
out-door grape-vines, and on the side towards the house 
with fine flowering climbers, or those that have good and 
durable foliage, such as Climbing Roses and Honeysuckles, 
the Clematis, Akebia, Viginia Creeper, Bittersweet (or 
Celastrus ncandens), Chinese Wistaria, etc., as perma- 
nent plants, which may be trained so as to cover the 
whole front ; and then, for variety, of a dwarfer habit and 
covering the lower parts, the Madeira Vine, Canary-bird 
Plant, and Adlumia, or Allegheny Vine. Some of the 
new Cucurhitacem, the broad-leaved Periwinkle, Ivies, 
and a number of other sorts may be recommended. 

I intend, in progressing with the explanation of the 



DESIGNS FOR ORNAMENTAL GROUNDS. 



33 












S T R E E T. 
Fig. 1.— DESIGN FOR A VILLAGE LOT. 



34 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

numbered objects of this plan, to give a list of sucli trees 
and shrubs as are required on a small place. It is a 
point which ought always to be considered, that trees and 
shrubs fit for a large place are not exactly suited to a 
small one, whatever may be their appearance or effect in 
the first four or five years ; the mistakes are only seen in 
after years. Fortunately for the generality of the "land- 
scapers," before the effect of their work is shown, the 
owner has removed to a bigger house, or the planting has 
been neglected, and the trees have died, or the " land- 
scaper" has fcund employment far away out West, caring 
very little how his chefs iVc&uvre in the East may look. 

At 2 is the terrace, with the embankment. Small em- 
bankments ought to be of the most simple shape ; any 
fancy outlines in the slope, on a small scale, will only be 
seen when the grass is freshly cut short, and they are 
therefore of no use. 3 is the main approach to the dwell- 
ing. (See scale for width.) At 20, in a small circle, it is 
intended to employ a fine bush of Pyrus Japonica, to 
interrupt the view from the street. 4 is a smaller walk 
intended for the use of the family, but forming with the 
walk 3 a continuous circuit around the place. 5 is in- 
tended for a small yard in the rear of the house, with the 
well at 13. 6, a six-foot walk, passing underneath the 
arbor ; a shady place in summer. 7, the arbor, with only 
spare room enough left in its rear for attending to the 
climbers and grape-vines planted against it. 8, intended 
to be a shed for wood and other articles, besides a hen- 
house, with hen-yard, at 10. 9, an office. 11, a bench, 
or resting place. 12, benches, or even stone seats, in 
recesses. 14, a grass plot, to be used for a drying- 
ground, and also as a play-ground for children, sur- 
rounded by seven deciduous shade trees, which might be, 
in preference, the Silver-leaved Maple (Acer dasy- 
carpnm), a healthy, strong-growing, and clean tree. At 
15, for variety of foliage, a Weeping Willow. 1G, a 



DESIGNS FOE ORNAMENTAL GROUNDS. 35 

hedge-row of Siberian Arbor-vitae. 17 is a [lower bed, 
with an outside border made of the small-leaved, trailing 
Juniper, or Juniperus procurribens. This magnificent 
plant, which, in small beds, forms the densest glaucous- 
green carpet, may be easily trained for a border by plant- 
ing small young plants at eight and ten inches apart, and 
then guiding the main leader with small wooden pins in 
the direction of the border. It offers something en- 
tirely new in color and shape, and it is to be regretted 
that it is so little in use. 

A second border, immediately around the flower-bed, 
affording a greater contrast in color, would be the small 
Tom Thumb Arbor-vitas — a very precious novelty, too, 
on account of its very dark foliage. 

At 18, on the northwest side of the house, there would 
be a very favorable location for a group of Khododendrons 
and other so-called North American evergreen shrubs. 

At 19 may be placed two single bushes of Calycanthus 
jloridus, or Sweet-scented Shrub, or, still better, two 
large vases or pieces of statuary. 

At 21, a circle, to be decorated with a Purple Beech, or 
a good specimen of the Kilmarnock Willow. 

At 22, all along the eastern boundary, a row of Norway 
Spruces, Balsam Firs, and American Arbor-vitas, in the 
rear, planted at sufficient distance from each other to 
permit a second row in front of them (alternating), about 
four or five feet from the side of the walk. 

In this front line ought to be employed Siberian Arbor- 
vita\ Irish and Swedish Junipers, Golden Arbor-vitas, 
Upright Yews, Retinispora ericoides and Podocarpus. 

At 22 a, in the rear of the play-ground, there ought to 
be the following shrubs, in three rows : for instance, in 
the rear, the Venetian Sumac, Gercis Siliquastrum, and 
Oercis Canadensis, Double White and Red Flowering 
Thorns, American Mountain Ash, etc., etc., but no larger 
trees. 



36 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

In the second row there might be planted (alternately) 
the Purple Hazel (or Filbert), the Silver-Bell (Halcsia 
tctraptcra), some Philadelphia, Euonymus, and Rose of 
Sharon. 

In the third row, still smaller sorts, closing down to the 
edging, such as the Purple Barberry, Hypericum Kalmia- 
num, Daphne Mezereum, Cotoneasters, Prunus Sinensis, 
and Prunus triloba. Herbaceous plants, like Peonies, Iris, 
Phloxes, etc., etc., maybe added, too, to great advantage. 

At 23, the group near the front fence must be stocked 
with such shrubs as will prevent outsiders from disturbing 
rhe privacy of the place, but low enough to allow the 
inmates to see the street from the piazza, or first floor. 

The following plants may best answer, viz. : Spiraea 
Reeuesiifi. plena, Spiraea prunifolia, and Spiraea callosa, 
Deutzia crenatajl.pleno, Crataegus Pyracantha (near each 
gate), and in front of these, towards the house, Hyperi- 
cum Kalmianum, Deutzia gracilis, Spiraea Fortunii, 
and some herbaceous plants. 24, a corner gioup, ought 
to be filled in the rear with one or two Gladrastis tinctoria, 
better known in nurseries as Virgilia lutea, and in front 
of these there should be some five or six JSsculus macro- 
stachya, a shrub of a remarkably fine effect. 

At 25 and 26, the two small groups could be employed 
for Hydrangeas. 27 and 28 require, to hide the hen- 
yard, some taller shrubs of the following sort: the Cali- 
fornian Privet, some Lilacs, and the Golden Elder (Sam- 
bucus nigra uurea.) 

The small border, 29, may be employed for some 
espaliers of Pears, Apricots, or Medlars. 

30 is intended for flower beds, arranged in the most 
simple way, and which ought to be filled in the fall with 
Dutch bulbs for the spring season, and in summer with 
tine selected bedding plants, of very distinct colors, but 
each separate color in one strip ; or with annuals, like 
Portulaca, Phlox Drummondii, Nemophilas, etc., etc. 



DESIGNS FOE OBNAMENTAL GROUNDS. 37 

At a, in Uiv. 30, there may be some Magnolias, a 
Cercis Japonica, and one Berberis macrophylla or 
Japonica. 

By mentioning exactly all the sorts of trees and shrubs 
that I might employ, I do not intend to say that the lav- 
ing out may be a failure by employing other sorts, as cor- 
responding varieties in size and foliage will answer just 
as well, but it will be noticed that I have mentioned no 
trees of large size, except along the eastern boundary 
and the play-ground. Indeed, of what use would it be 
to employ Sugar Maples, Elms, Norway Maples, and 
Sycamores, which, after a few years, would cover up half 
the width of the place, and leave no room for good shrub- 
bery and flowers ; allow no sun in the place, and even 




Fig. 2.— SECTION OF ROAD WITH SINGLE DRAIN. 

prevent the turf from growing under their shade ? It 
would be as sensible, as to place in a small drawing-room 
a (able, of which the four corners would touch the four 
walls. 

In the selection of the right kind of plants is the whole 
secret of the art. 

The walks in such a regular garden must be as well 
graded as possible, and on the same level as the turf, 
which ought not to overreach them more than one inch 
or one inch and one-half. Very narrow walks, unless the 
grass is frequently clipped, often look like ditches. 

To establish such walks, if there is any drainage re- 
quired, the digging out of the soil before stoning ought 
to be as clearly defined and done as well as the dressing 
of the top. 

The best way to dig them out is, in general, for single 
drains, according to the diagram, figure 2, and where 



38 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

double drains are required, I generally recommend the 
following system, shown in figure 3. 

It will be seen by the first diagram that the bottom of 
the ditch represented in the cut is an inclined plane, run- 
ning downwards from one side of the walk toward the 
opposite side of the drain, which I figure here simply as a 
stone drain. The stoning is to be laid upright, and 
never flat, on the hardened bottom of the ditch or dug- 
out trench ; if laid flat, the stones will never bind to- 
gether, but if upright, they will soon become tight by the 
intrusion of the gravel that has to be put on top of them. 

The depth of the trench depends very much on the 
quality of the subsoil, and has to be regulated by it, and 
so with the ditch for the drains. 

Such walks also depend very much on the quality of 




Figr. 3. — section of road with dotole brains. 



the soil, and very often, indeed generally, on the facility 
of procuring the materials. 

In some places I have seen walks and roads made by 
simply scratching off three or four inches of light top soil, 
beneath which was gravel several feet deep. Such a road 
may be dry, but is very noisy, tiresome, and movable. 

In other instances I have seen walks made by opening 
ditches over four feet deep, only for the sake of burying 
rocks and saving the soil found in digging ; these form 
very fine drains, and help to clear the land of boulders 
and rocks, as is the case on top of Orange Mountain, N. J. 

The second diagram (figure 3) shows the section of a 
walk or drive requiring more drainage. The bottom, 
between the two drain ditches, forms a curving line, on 
which, if well placed, the stones will soon form an arch, 
and give the road all the qualities required. 



DESIGNS FOR ORNAMENTAL GROUNDS. 39 

The depth here is not as much regulated by the quality 
of the soil as by the width of the drive or roads. The 
more convexity given the bottom, the better for the ab- 
sorption of the water by the drain, which ought to be at 
least twelve inches deeper than the extremity of the curve, 
whilst the top of the curve must remain at least six inches 
below the top of the road or drive. 

Frequent raking, to remove the larger gravel or pebbles, 
and more frequent rolling during damp weather, are 
necessary for new walks. 

If good clay is at hand, a thin coat of it may be put 
between the coarse and the fine gravel on top. 

Gutters made of flagstone, or simply paved, will be 
needed only where there is a great descent and a large 
accumulation of water above, or sometimes even where 
the ground is very light and sandy, although the surface 
may slope but very little. 

In uneven grounds, drives and walks are to be made in 
the same manner, but their finish and beauty will never 
depend upon themselves, nor upon the way in which they 
are laid down. An additional, correct grading of the 
grounds, right and left, so as to bring the sod everywhere 
at equal height over the gravel, and then a careful grad- 
ing of the grounds three, four to six feet off the margin, 
where the soil rises or falls, is indispensable in such cases 
to make a finished drive. 

The staking out of such uneven walks, and the regu- 
lar distribution of the grading, to avoid unsightly ups 
and downs, is a matter of taste and practice, ruled by the 
shape of the land and the direction of the walks. 

DESIGN FOR A FLOWER GARDEN. 

We give in figure 4 a design for a regular flower 
garden, intended for the ornamenting of the foot of a 
terrace, built in front of a large villa. 



40 



PRACTIC A L FLO RIC U LTURE. 



The terrace is intended to be of a heavy stone work, 
about three feet above the ground, with a projection in 




Fig. 4.— DESIGN FOR A FLOWER GARDEN. 

the middle and two steps on each side, leading to the 
main walks of the flower garden. 

Such an arrangement, often seen in English villas, or 
in English designs, belongs only to large pleasure grounds, 
and may be considered as the real "dress ground." 



DESIGNS FOR ORNAMENTAL GROUNDS. 41 

This design lias boon expressly made with the view of 
keeping in order cheaply. 

The lawn, or what is to be kept in sod, is as much as 
possible in regular straight lines, easily mowed with some 
of tlu? patent lawn mowers. 

The walks are wide, as, starting from the bottom of the 
terrace, they will be overlooked the whole length from the 
top, and would appear scanty if not of liberal dimensions. 

The place is intended to be kept as private as possible — 
a sort of open-air saloon — by a belt of selected shrubbery, 
and shade trees in its rear. 

At 1, there are seats indicated in several recesses cut 
into the shrubs, the seats to be of heavy timber, as stone 
would be rather too cool, and iron or rustic work not 
looking architectural enough. 

At 2, there are pedestals for pieces of statuary, or vases 
or large specimen plants in painted boxes. 

At 3, 4 and 6, groups of Eoses, bedding-out plan Is of 
broad, showy foliage, or flowering shrubs, such as Hydran- 
geas, which continue long in bloom. 

At 5, the center piece, there is a large flower bed for 
Scarlet Geraniums, Feverfew, etc., surrounded by a bor- 
der of Irish Ivy, kept in line, so as not to exceed twelve 
to eighteen inches in width. 

Such borders of Ivy, if employed in the right place, and 
well kept in order, are a magnificent ornament to a gar- 
den, and, according to their location, may be kept three 
and four feet wide. A very little covering in winter will 
keep the foliage, of the right sort, in very good order. 

In the large squares, plainly sodded, that are in the gar- 
dens of the Louvre and the Tuileries, at Paris, there is 
no other ornament but such borders of broad-leaved Ivy, 
established at three to four feet from the walks, and left 
running about two to three feet wide ; and they make, 
with the dark green against the lighter turf, a most 
agreeable contrast. 



42 



PKACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 




DESIGNS FOR ORNAMENTAL GROUNDS. 43 

At 7, on the iloor of the terrace, and protected by the 




Fitf. 6. — design for A FLOWER bed in A WALK. — (Seepage 45.) 

shade of the balustrade, there will be a very good location 
for hardy Rhododendrons, and similar shrubs. 

DESIGN FOR A PARTERRE. 

The design ( figure 5 ) represents a parterre to be 




Fig. 7. — design for A flower bed in A walk.— (See page 46. ) 

established in front of a large greenhouse, or conservatory, 



44 



rUACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



and bringing together, in one single spot, all the flower 
beds generally scattered over the lawn, on a large place. 
For privacy, it is surrounded by a belt of flowering shrubs. 
Two principal flower beds, at 1 and 2, are intended to 
be surrounded by a small evergreen border, kept for itself, 




Fig. 8. — FLOWER beds at the junction of walks. — (See page 4G.) 

and not to be considered as an edging ; small edging-box 
might answer best. 

At 3, there are recesses for statuary, behind which the 
foliage ought to be of the darkest kind, to contrast with 
the white statuary, and make that conspicuous. 

At 4, similar recesses for seats of heavy timber. 



DESIGNS FOR ORNAMENTAL GROUNDS. 



45 



At, 5, in front of the greenhouse, alternating with the 
flower beds, are simple, upright growing evergreens, sym- 
metrically planted, .such as Irish and Swedish Junipers, 
Tarus erccta, Podocarpus Japonica, Retinispora, etc. 

At 0, single specimens of shrubs of medium size, 




FijT. 9. — FLOWER BEDS AT THE TERMINUS OF A WALK, 



remarkable for their flowers, fragrance, or fine foliage ; 
for example, Dcutzia crenata jiore pleno, Pyrus Japonica, 
Craicegus Pyracantha, or the Primus triloba. 

FLOWER BEOS IN WALKS, OR AT JUNCTONS OF WALKS. 

Figure 6 (p. 43), and the three following illustrations, 
are designs for introducing ornamental planting where 



46 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

opportunity offers along the course of a walk. In fig- 
ure G, the walk divides and passes each side of a bed of 
choice shrubbery, while the opposite sides of the walk are 
planted with some of the select shrubs already named, or 
others. By the judicious use of flowering shrubs, and 
the low-growing evergreens, very fine effects may be pro- 
duced. In figure 7, is a similar but more elaborate plan, 
which allows of the introduction of flowers in masses ; 
such an arrangement would be very appropriate for a 
Kose garden. In figure 8, we have a design for ornament- 
ing the point at which two walks unite at right angles. 
The planting maybe of Ivy, Trailing Juniper, and other 
low-growing evergreens, upon a ground- work of well- 
kept grass, or flowers may be introduced. In figure 9, 
we have a bit of ornamental flower garden at the terminus 
of a walk. What has been said of the selection of shrubs, 
etc., in describing the larger designs, will be a sufficient 
guide in carrying out these smaller plans. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

PLANTING OF FLOWER BEDS. 

Much difference prevails in the modes of planting 
flowerbeds, some holding to the promiscuous intersper- 
sion of the different plants, others to the ribbon or carpet 
style of planting, now so general in Europe. If the pro- 
miscuous system is adopted, care should be taken to dispose 
the plants in the beds so that the tallest plants will be at 
the back of the bed, if the border is against a wall or 
background of shrubbery, the others gradating to the 
front, according to height. In open beds, on the lawn, 
the tallest should be at the centre, the others grading 



PLANTING OF FLOWER BEDS. 47 

down to the front, on all sides, interspersing the colors 
so as to form the most agreeable contrast in shades. But, 
for grand effect, nothing, in our estimation, can ever be 
produced in promiscuous planting to equal that obtained 
by planting in masses or in ribbon lines. In the grounds 
of the Crystal Palace, near London, and at the Jar din 
des Plantes, in Pans, wonderful specimens of this mode 
of planting are to be seen. The lawns are cut so as to 
resemble rich green velvet ; on these the flower beds are 
laid out in every style that art can conceive ; some are 
planted in masses of blue, scarlet, yellow, crimson, white, 
etc., separate beds of each, harmoniously blended on the 
carpeting of green. Then, again, the ribbon style is 
used in the large beds, in forms so various that allusion 
can here be made to only a few of the most conspicuous. 
In a circular bed, say of twenty feet in diameter, the first 
line towards the grass is blue Lobelia, attaining a height 
of six inches ; next comes the famous Mrs. Pollock Ger- 
anium, occupying a space one foot and one-half wide and 
nine inches high, with its gorgeous leaves and flowers; 
then, against that, is a line of Mountain of Snow Gera- 
nium, with its silvery white foliage and scarlet flowers, 
backed by the maroon-colored Colens Verscliaffeltii ; the 
center being a mound of scarlet Salvia. Another style is a 
fringe for the front, of the fern-like, white-leaved Centau- 
rea gymnocarpa ; back of that is the Crystal Palace Scar- 
let Geranium ; then Phalaris arundinacea picta, a recent 
style of Ribbon Grass ; next, Coleus Verscliaffeltii, and, in 
the center, a clump of Cannas, or Pampas Grass. 

During a visit to Europe in 1872, I went to the cele- 
brated Battersea Park, the most interesting, in a horti- 
cultural view, of the many parks in the neighborhood, of 
London. A feature peculiar to Battersea Park is the 
subtropical and alpine planting, both of which, as here 
done, were to us a novel feature in landscape gardening. 
It was interesting to sec how common and rough looking 



48 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

plants were made to produce such wonderful effects when 
grouped and contrasted in the subtropical arrangement. 
The plants were mainly (Jannas, Japanese Maize (striped), 
Wigandias, Bocconias, Solanums and many of the tall- 
growing sorts of Amaranths. These were grouped on 
beds of every conceivable form, some clearly defined in 






i ' - / i / » 



i 

t 



r 



/ 






^ 



Fie,'. 10. — A CARPET BED. 

1. Echeveria Seeunda. 4. Echeveria Extensa. 

2. Semperviviim Californicum. 5. Yellow Alternanthera. 

3. Echeveria Rosea. 6. Yellow Alternanthera. 

7. Crimson Alternanthera. 

the broad lawn, some skirting the edge of a clump of 
trees, others planted in and among the trees and shrub- 
bery as undergrowth, giving the impression, when look- 
ing at it under the roofy shade of trees, that you were 
viewing an undergrowth of the tropics rather thana rriece 



PLANTING OF FLOWER BEDS. 49 



S * v 
/ / \ , 



» v / 



>»---^ \ 



\ • » 



> > x / f 



* X v *.' > ^. 



v ^ i / V~~' 



/ 



i 









v y • •• • 

\ 
\ / ' 

Fig. 11. — DESIGN FOR BED. 

1. Scarlet Salvia. 2. Coleus Verschaffeltii. 

All lines in the figure to be edged with Yellow Coleus, or reversed 



''-£-. x .-~&-* ! 









if so 


desired. 


r-»- 
« 

! 2 

t / 

1 ' 
i ' 

1/ , 




i 

4 




1/ 



*^j 



Fig. 12.— DESIGN FOR BED. 

1. Altemanthera, Crimson. 3. Lobelia, Blue 

2. Altemanthera, Yellow. 4. Coleus, Golden. 

5. Achyranthcs, Crimson. 
The Coleus and Achyranthes to be pinched low. 



50 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

of the most artistical planting of an English park. One 
particular spot, which will not soon be forgotten, was a 
ravine of considerable extent, well shaded by tall trees, 
where were planted immense plants of tree ferns, the 







-• ' N v 












* ,-'" — ~ V 






• '• "« V 








< 


1 '. ' 




• 1 


1 1 






»«*"" '*'■» 1 » 




ll • 


»* \ | 1 






/ \ » »\ 


1 * 


1** \ 




1 ' 


/ x ^ 


\ »' .** S \ \ > 




t 




s ' , 


1 


^-» '1 .'** • • / 


\ l[ % 


! «• 


,- -"Hi *-"-., 4 : * ! / 


\ \ 


I 


y'" ji *■■> / ' / 


\ \ 




% ^**-"_ 


:: -"\ 






\ t 

l> » 

1 1 

1 1 


/ ; / 



Fig. 13.— DESIGN FOR A BED. 

1. Walk. 4. Coleus, Verschaffeltii. 

2. Grass. 5. Coleus, Black. 

3. Coleus, Golden. 6. Coleus, Firebrand. 
Or 3, 4, 5 and 6 can be alternations of crimson and yellow 

Alternantheras if desired. 

stems covered with Lycopodium, so exactly as to resem- 
ble what would be their condition in nature. Behind 
these and against the blue sky stood out strongly some 
gigantic Palms, so that we had here again a glimpse of 
what an Australian or Indian forest might be. In 



FLANTING OF FLOW Eli BEDS. 51 

* r ■••«■ »•"** * **' / .* 

* .»>'*•♦ * •.<*''"'- * 

; - \ • * ; _ '• i 

: '• 6 ' : • • ■ i 

\ '•.. -• ..• * \ V X / 

♦ **«* « • * • 

«* * » . ♦. 

«?i »•*«. • V. ^<*' . .... \ 

» V '. * * • . • * * 

»*' / '•« •••»•••• .'* \ » 

: : s '•♦...-•• * ; ) 
» • -*-• . % * : 

; : : / to \ *" i 

» • . • - . . 

r * * » * • * '. 

* * « » Su . * • < 

I : * i ..:--f--". *• :• ;• 

* » ,»..«>•« " r • 

a. » .' » y > * , 

"\ : ( > ? : f 

\\ .*• 

/ 



• * 3 



Fig. 14. — DESIGN FOR BED. 

1. Gravel Walk. 6. Double Alyssum Tom Thumb. 

2. Grass. 7. Geranium," Silver Leaf. 

3. Double Alyssum Tom Thumb. 8. Geranium, Happy Thought. 

4. Double Alyssum Tom Thumb. 9. Centauria Gymnocarpa. 

5. Double Alyssum Tom Thumb. 10. Scarlet Geranium. 



52 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

direct contrast to these was a hill, a miniature Alp, 
planted from base to nearly the summit with alpine 
plants of the rarest kinds, among which were largely in- 
terspersed Sedums, Sempervivums, and other succulents, 
in rarity and variety sufficient to give joy to a botanist's 
heart. On the peaks and in the crevices of this little 
hill, was planted closely one of the most common native 
plants of Britain, Antennaria dioica, one of the Ever- 
lastings, having white foliage, and this plant easily con- 
veyed the impression of snow on the hill-tops and in its 
gullies. Altogether, on this little mound of half an acre, 
were planted probably three hundred distinct species. 

Then from this mound of botanical interest, the first 
turn brought us to a very different style of planting — the 
massing or ribbon style, or what would be more appro- 
priately (as it is done here) called the "carpet style," 
for it often resembles just such patterns as would make a 
beautiful carpet. This style is meeting now with much 
opposition from Mr. Eobinson, editor of the " Garden," 
and many others ; but whatever may be objectionable to 
those whose conceptions of gardening are beyond this 
rectangular system, there is no denying the pleasure that 
it gives to the masses — as was apparent by the crowds 
admiring those flower beds at Battersea Park, many 
persons being engaged in sketching the plans and taking 
notes of the varieties used to produce the effect. This 
Park of Battersea contains only two hundred acres. Its 
natural beauties are far inferior to either our Central, of 
New York, or Prospect Park, of Brooklyn ; but its judi- 
cious system of planting, which gives novelty and fresh- 
ness at every turn, conveys to the visitor a lasting 
impression of pleasure that the plain, monotonous 
shrubbery and lawn of our New York parks can never 
give. The public parks in Britain or Ireland are the 
best schools of taste in floriculture (he people have to 
model from ; and so it should lie with us, but with the 



PLANTING OF FLOWEK BEDS. 53 

few extremely limited attempts that have been made al 
the Central Park, New York, the past few years, there 
has been no ornamental planting of a public character in 
the vicinity of New York. Some fine examples of this 



.',' ,',-' *N\ 1 /,-**% NV 

•I k. V"" 3 .---- 3 — r/' v \ » 

1 i '{'•'' v v « • » v 

'< . // \* ,(,* 

1 3 i&i 6 , . i 









\\ ' -~> ,--*. ,$---i \ '< 

% « V - - ' ' * " - • ' ' 



Fig. 15. — DESIGN FOR BED. 

1. Coleus Versehaffeltii. 5. Achyranthes, Maroon. 

2. Stevia Variegata. 6. Coleus, Black. 

3. Coleus, Firebrand. 7. Coleus, Golden Bedder. 

4. Stevia Variegata. 8. Achyranthes, Crimson. 

All kept pinched even. 

kind of gardening may be seen in the public parks in 
Washington, D. C. ; Chicago, 111.; Allegheny City and 
Philadelphia, Pa.; Boston, Mass., and even Albany, 
N. Y., where the effects of massing may be studied to 
advantage. But even as we write (1886), neither in 
Central Park, in New York City, or in Prospect Park, 



54 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

Brooklyn, has there been anything done at all to compare 
with that done in the far less imposing parks in the cities 
already named. 

The designs on the preceding pages for massing in 
colors, from the " Book of Plans," recently issued by Geo. 
A. Solly & Son, of Springfield, Mass., will be found useful. 
Of course, there is nothing arbitrary in the use of the 
different plants here recommended to produce effects; that 
is entirely a matter of taste and judgment in the oper- 
ator. The distance apart in which plants should be set 
for effect varies with the kind and size of the plants. 
Coleus, Achyranthes, Geraniums and the other strong- 
growing kinds should be set from ten to twelve inches 
apart each way, while Lobelias, Echeveiias, Alyssum, 
Alternantheras, and all low-growing plants, should not 
be set wider than five or six inches to produce the best 
effects. 



CHAPTER IX. 

SOILS FOR POTTING. 



I rarely pick up a work on floriculture but the matter 
of soils is treated of in such a way as to be perfectly be- 
wildering to amateurs, if not also to professional florists. 
One authority gives a table of not less than nineteen sorts! 
"Whether these authorities practice as they preach is very 
questionable ; some of them I know do not, but why they 
should thus write and mystify those they attempt to 
teach, can only be ascribed to a desire to impress their 
readers with the profundity of their knowledge on such 
subjects. Now, what is the effect of such instructions ? 
Our amateur cultivators are disheartened, as such combi- 
nations of soils are to thena perfectly impracticable. The 



SOILS FOR POTTING. 55 

private gardener, perhaps, falls back on his employer, 
and ascribes the unhealthy condition of his plants to the 
effect of his not being able to procure such and such soil, 
which, he says, is necessary to some class of plants, and 
excuses his failures thereby. The young florist, beginning 
business in some country town, with restricted means, 
and with limited knowledge of what he is undertaking, 
looks upon this august authority in despair, and his heart 
sinks within him when he knows that no silver sand is 
within a thousand miles of him, and he is told, without 
qualification, that it is necessary for his propagating 
bench, or as an ingredient in his potting soils. He begins 
without it, and as he will possibly make some failures, 
these failures are laid at the door of the soil or sand 
that he has been obliged to use, while the chances are, 
twenty to one, that they were not. Not the least satis- 
faction I have in writing this book is, that of being able 
to attempt the simplification of many of our operations 
to such an extent as to put the means of doing the work 
within the reach of every one. Not the least simple of 
these operations is the preparation of our potting soil. 
We have, we may say, only one heap — a big one at that — 
but it contains only two ingredients, rotted sods, from a 
loamy pasture, and rotted refuse hops from the breweries, 
or, in lieu, rotted cow or horse manure, in about the pro- 
portion of two of the sods to one of the hops or manure. 
The sods are cut during the spring or summer, and laid, 
with grassy sides together, so as to decompose, and the 
heap is repeatedly turned until it becomes friable. The 
rotted refuse hops (one year old), or rotted manure, is 
then added, either at once or when the soil is wanted for 
potting. For small pots — from two to four inches — we 
run it through a sieve of one-half inch meshes, which 
thoroughly incorporates the parts ; for larger pots, if. is 
not necessary to run it through a sieve, unless, perhaps, 
for the sake of thoroughly mixing, it may be quicker to 



56 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

run it through a screen or sieve with a one or one and a 
half inch mesh. If the lo;im is rather clayey, we use 
more hops or manure ; if rather sandy, less than the pro- 
portion named. From this mould-heap the soil is taken 
from which all our jilants are grown and flowered ; we 
make no exceptions, unless in the case of the few fine- 
rooting plants, such as Heaths, Ferns, Gloxinias, Cala- 
diums, Azaleas, Epacris, etc. In potting these, we use 
about two-thirds of the decayed refuse hops to one of 
loam ; if the hops are not attainable, leaf mould from the 
woods will do, in lieu of the hops, for this purpose. Our 
general mould-heap supplies the soil, alike for Bouvar> 
dias, Begonias, Carnations, Camellias, Chrysanthemums, 
Daphnes, Dracenas, Dahlias, Fuchsias, Gazanias, Garde- 
nias, Geraniums, Hyacinths, Liliums, Lan tanas, Petunias, 
Pansies, Roses, Tuberoses, Violets, Verbenas, etc., etc. 
Whether plants show vigorous growth under this univer- 
sal application of soil to their varied natures, our thou- 
sands of patrons, who will be readers of this book, can 
attest. If any of the disciples of the old school doubt this, 
let them come and have ocular evidence of the fact. 
Our location is within half an hour's walk (or fifteen min- 
utes' ride) of the city of New York ; our gates and doors 
are always open ; visitors are free to go and examine as 
they choose. They will see our mould heap looming up 
like a miniature mountain ; they will see hundreds of 
thousands of plants, natives of every clime, deriving their 
luxuriant growth from this one source. While ignoring 
the necessity of special varieties of soil for special families 
of plants, I do not mean to say that plants may not be 
grown as well by the use of such compounds as by ours ; 
but I claim that, as a whole, they can be grown no better, 
and that the advice to use these combinations is bewil- 
dering to the amateur, or inexperienced gardener, trouble- 
some in its practice, and of no benefit whatever in its 
results. In proof of this, I have, on many occasions, re- 



TEMPERATURE AND MOISTURE. 5? 

ceived all kinds of plants from a dozen different growers 
in different parts of the country, hardly two of whom use 
the same soil, but all grow them well. So in the vicinity 
of New York, where the soil is varied at the different 
points, as much as soil can be ; yet we see growers using 
very different compounds with equally good results, show- 
ing, as has long ago been satisfactory to me, that special 
soils have less to do with the healthy growth of plants than 
the proper application of temperature and moisture. In 
cities having paved streets, wo find the sweepings to be 
a most valuable ingredient, which may be used to advan- 
tage in lieu of refuse hops, manure or leaf-mould. 



CHAPTER X. 

TEMPERATURE AND MOISTURE. 

Many young gardeners and amateurs flounder befogged, 
attributing failure of crops in the garden, or want of 
health of plants in the greenhouse, to bad seeds, uncon- 
genial soil or fertilizers, when it is much of tener the case 
that the cause is of a totally different nature, and entirely 
within their control. A temperature at which seeds are 
sown and plants grown must be congenial to the nature 
of the kind, else success cannot follow. In a temperature 
at which a Portulaca will vigorously germinate, a Pansy 
seed would lie dormant, or, at least, show a sickly exist- 
ence, and vice versa. Nearly half of the Corn and Lima 
Beans sown annually, perish by being sown from two to 
three weeks too early, by the impatience of our embryo 
horticulturists. On the other hand, the cold-blooded 
Carrot or Turnip seed all but refuse to germinate in the 
sultry days of July. Seeds of Calceolarias, Cinerarias 
and Chinese Primroses will germinate more freely if sown 



58 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

in greenhouse or frame during the cool months of March, 
April or May, in our climate, than if delayed until June 
or July, the time it is usually done in the colder climate 
of England. It has been our own practice for yours to 
sow in these months ; but if by chance it has been omitted, 
we prefer to delay sowing till September, rather than to 
sow in midsummer. Many failures are attributable to 
want of knowledge of this fact, and they are, without 
question, laid to the charge of the seedsman. 

The same necessity of accommodating the temperature 
to the nature of a matured plant, exists even to a greater 
extent, than it does with the seed ; and one of the main 
causes of want of success in cultivating plants under glass 
is, want of knowledge of the proper temperature, or from 
carelessness in keeping a temperature unsuited to the 
growth of the plants. In ordinary greenhouse collections, 
the fault is oftener in the temperature being kept too high 
than too low, for it is much 'easier, requiring far less 
watchfulness by the person in charge, to keep up a high 
temperature. The injury done by this is gradual, and 
will not, like the action of frost on the plants, show in the 
morning. In consequence of this, we often see the green- 
house containing Camellias, Azaleas, Pelargoniums, (Jar- 
nations, etc., etc., sweltering in midwinter under a 
continued night temperature of sixty-five degrees, when 
their nature demands fifteen degrees lower. 

We too often see collections of hot-house and green- 
house plants intermingled, and attempts made to grow 
them together, which must result in failure to one or 
the other. The temperature to grow, in healthy con- 
dition, Colens, Bouvardia,or Poinsettia (hot-house plants), 
would not be likely to maintain Verbenas, Carnations, or 
Geraniums, long in a healthy state. The same rules fol- 
low as to the propagating house, showing the necessity, 
even in a greater degree, of observing the requirements 
of their different natures. Coleus, Bouvardia, Begonia, 



TEMPERATURE AND MOISTURE. 59 

and Lantana, root in a bottom heat of seventy-five de- 
grees, with atmospheric temperature of sixty-five degrees, 
in ten days ; at twenty degrees lower they will not root 
at all, but will perish. Although cuttings and plants of 
a more hardy nature will root in some conditions of growth 
at this temperature, yet we prefer, to insure plants of 
vigorous health, that Verbenas, Carnations, Geraniums, 
Roses, etc., be rooted in a temperature at least ten de- 
grees lower, both in bottom heat and temperature of the 
house. 

The subject is one that relates to so many varieties and 
different conditions of organization at the different seasons 
of growth, that it is impossible to convey to the inexperi- 
enced what these varieties and conditions are ; but my 
object is to impress upon young or inexperienced readers 
what I have long believed to be an important truth — that 
the supplying the proper conditions of temperature to 
plants under glass, according to their different natures 
and conditions, has as much, or more, to do with their 
welfare, than any other cause ; and that often when ascrib- 
ing the unhealthy state of a plant to uncongenial soil or 
defective drainage, or the " damping off " of some favorite 
cutting, to the way it Avas cut, or the sand in which it 
was put, the true and sole cause of the failure w r as 
nothing more than condemning the plant or the cutting 
to an atmosphere uncongenial to its nature. 

Thus far, we mainly allude to temperature. Serious 
injury is often done to plants from a want of, or excess of, 
moisture. The old gardener with whom my first essay in 
gardening was made, used to define the difference in dry- 
ness in plants as " dry " and " killing dry " " dry " was 
the proper condition that the plant should be in, when 
water was applied, the surface indicating dryness by be- 
coming lighter, but no flagging or wilting ; but woe 
betide the unfortunate that allowed a plant in charge to 
become in the condition of " killing dry ;" this, in his 



60 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

eye, was an unpardonable offence. " Killing dry " was, to 
some extent, really killing, in such a collection as we grew, 
which consisted largely of Cape Ilea! lis, Epacris, Azaleas, 
and other hard-wooded plants, which are easily killed 
outright by allowing their tender, thread-like rootlets to 
become dry ; unlike soft-wooded plants, such as Gerani- 
ums, Fuchsias, or Roses, they have less recuperative pow- 
ers, so that a " dry" that would kill a Heath or Azalea 
would have only the effect to stagnate the growth of a Ger- 
anium, and bring the tell-tale yellow leaves that are certain 
to follow whenever such plants have suffered for a lack or 
excess of moisture. Although the effect of drying is, for 
the time being perhaps, less marked in a hard-wooded 
plant than in a soft-wooded one, yet the ultimate effect 
is much more fatal. To the unpractised eye, a Heath or 
Azalea that has been injured by drouth may appear all 
righ t, while it has gone beyond recovery. The old gardener 
before alluded to used to make his dead Heaths do excel- 
lent service in assisting him in some severe jokes played 
on his less experienced brethren. Specimen plants of 
Heaths were scarce, and, in some sorts, very valuable, and 
if he succeeded in making a present of one of these dead 
plants to one of his less-knowing friends, it used to keep 
him in good humor for a week. 

No plant should ever bo allowed to flag or wilt for want 
of moisture, neither should it be watered until the neces- 
sity for water is shown by the- whitening of the surface 
of the soil, particularly if in dull weather, or if the green- 
house is kept at a low temperature. As a rule, with 
greenhouse plants kept in a night temperature of forty- 
five degrees, with a day temperature of sixty degrees, 
watering twice a week from December to March will 
generally be sufficient ; on the approach of clear weather, 
with higher temperature in April and May, they will re- 
quire daily attention. 

Our practice is to water during winter with the common 



TEMPERATURE AXI) MOISTURE. Gl 

rose watering pots, giving the plants water sparingly, or 
otherwise, as required. But as spring opens, we go at 
the operation more expeditiously, using a one and a half 
inch hose, through which the water is forced by a force 
pump, or through pressure from the city water works. To 
the end of the hose is attached a heavy sprinkler. In all 
districts where there is no hydrant-water, the force pump 
makes a good substitute, though, of course, entailing 
double work. Most of our large florists, in the vicinity 
of New York, who are out of the range of city water 
works, use windmills to raise the water from wells to ele- 
vated tanks, so as to get the necessary pressure, and thus 
do away with the necessity of the force pump. When 
practicable, we prefer to water or syringe plants early in 
the forenoon (say from 9 to 11 a. m.), although it is by 
no means imperative to do so. 

Two rules are laid down by nearly all writers that I 
have read on floriculture, in reference to the water to bo 
used for plants ; one, that it must be rain, or, at least, 
" soft" water ; the other, that the water should be of the 
same temperature as the atmosphere in which the plants 
are growing. 

To both these dogmas, I beg to respectfully enter my 
protest. Such dogmas are handed down from one to 
another, without one in a hundred of those who hold 
them, having either the opportunity or inclination to test 
their truth by expsriment. My greenhouses, at Jersey 
City, for a dozen years, were entirely watered from a deep 
well of hard water, winter and summer, which might 
average in temperature forty degrees ; most of my 
greenhouses, now on Jersey City Heights, were watered 
from cisterns inside the greenhouses, from rain-water 
caught by the roof, for some ten years, and for the past 
dozen years we have used the city water, yet we have never 
been able to sec that our plants have been in any way dif- 
ferent under these three different conditions of watering. 



62 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

If any one will take the trouble to reason for a minute, lie 
will understand why there is no necessity for this equality 
of temperature between the water and the soil. If we 
plunge a thermometer into the soil of a plant in the hot- 
house, it may indicate, say, eighty degrees ; if we pour a 
pint of water at forty degrees into the soil, the tempera- 
ture will not be forty degrees, but about the mean between 
forty and eighty degrees, say sixty degrees. Now, if 
the soil remained for any length of time at sixty degrees, 
it might be, to some extent, injurious ; but it does not. 
In ten minutes it will become of the same temperature 
as before it was watered, or nearly so, by the absorption 
of heat from the atmosphere of the house. It is the 
duration of extremes of temperature that does the 
mischief ; place a plant of Coleus in a temperature of 
thirty-three degrees for forty-eight hours, and it will be 
almost certain to die, while it would remain as many 
minutes without injury. Let a dash of sun raise the 
temperature of your hot-bed to one hundred degrees, or 
over, for ten minutes, and it will not seriously injure the 
contents, but an hour of this temperature might destroy 
all the plants. 

We pour ice-water into our stomachs at a temperature 
of less than forty degress, with impunity, because but a 
few minutes suffices to bring it to the temperature it 
meets with there ; did we swallow a sufficient quantity 
to keep the stomach at the temperature of ice-water for 
any length of time, fatal results may follow. 

Although I am emphatic against the necessity of 
water being of the temperature of the house, where the 
application of water is generally used, yet I admit that 
if preference can be given without trouble, give it to the 
warmer water. I also agree that in cases such as forcing 
of Lily of the Valley, or for tropical cuttings or seeds 
just germinating, that water should be used of the tem- 
perature of the house. 



THE POTTING OF PLANTS. 63 

A point indispensable in our hot and arid climate is, 
that all plants in the greenhouse should stand on close 
benches, overlaid with sand or ashes, or some such ma- 
terial. This keeps moist and prevents the plants from 
suffering, if any omission occur in watering. We know 
that the practice in many places is entirely different from 
this, the plants being stood on benches of open slat- 
work. No plant can be kept healthy in such a place, 
unless with at least double the labor of watering neces- 
sary with those standing on sand. This, like many other 
of our mistakes, is copied from the mode pursued in 
England, where a colder, moister, and less sunny cli- 
mate may make it a necessary practice. 

For this reason, also, we prefer to use benches, or tables, 
instead of the stair-like greenhouse stage, which is now 
almost discarded. However, an exception to this rule is 
necessary in growing Roses or other plants in large pots 
or tubs for winter flowering, where complete drainage is 
necessary. They should, in all such cases, stand on slat- 
ted benches ; if placed on sand or ashes, it would stop 
the free passage of water from the holes in the bottoms 
of the pots or tubs. If placed on such benches, the pots 
or tubs should be raised an inch or so on pieces of wood 
to admit of free drainage. 



CHAPTER XI. 
THE POTTING OF PLANTS. 

The first operation of potting is, when the rooted cutting 
is transferred from the cutting-bed to the pot. Almost 
without exception, plants of every variety, at this stage, 
should lie placed in a two-inch pot ; occasionally some of 
the coarser-growing Geraniums may require the three- 
inch size, from the fact that the roots are too large 



64 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

for the two-inch pots ; but there are few exceptions of 
this kind. The great mass of plants, when in the con- 
dition of rooted cuttings, do much better in the smaller 
size, for the reason that the smaller mass of soil in the 
two-inch pot allows the moisture to pass off quicker, and 
thereby prevents the soil from becoming sour, or sodden, 
which would be the case, more or less, if the cuttings 
had been overpotted in a three or four-inch pot. The 
operation of potting cuttings is very simple, and, in 
florists' establishments, is performed with great rapidity, 
average workmen doing three hundred plants per hour, 
though expert working florists should do five hundred per 
hour. We have quite a number of men who can do this 
with ease. The pot is filled to the level with soil, a space 
made with the finger, in the center of the soil, of suffi- 
cient size to admit the root, which is placed in the open- 
ing thus made ; the soil is closed in again by pressing 
with the thumbs close to the neck of the cutting, which 
firms the soil around the root ; a smart rap is struck the 
side of pot with the hand, which levels the surface of the soil, 
and the operation is done. After the plants are placed in 
pots, they are shaded from two to six days by covering 
them with paper while the sun is shining on them, care 
being taken to keep the paper moist by sprinkling. For 
nearly all the commoner kinds of bedding plants, such as 
Roses, Verbenas, Heliotropes, etc., cuttings in these two- 
inch pots, if stood on tables, which are covered with an inch 
of sand, and occasionally moved, to keep the roots from 
pushing too far through into the sand, will keep in a 
healthy condition from one to two months, at the cool 
season of the year, from January to May ; but when the 
pots get filled with roots, the plants should be shifted 
into larger sized pots, to keep t hem in good health. When 
plants arc required to bo grown as specimens, or of larger 
size, for sale in spring, they must be repotted at intervals 
as the condition of their growth demands; for example, 



THE POTTING OP PLANTS. G5 

to grow a Fuchsia to a height of six feet, and three feet 
in diameter, a pot of at least twelve inches across the 
top and twelve inches in depth would he necessary ; but 
it would not do to jump from the two-inch cutting 
pot to this size at once ; three or four different shifts 
are necessary to attain this end ; these shifts should 
be made, as a general thing, not greater than from a 
two-inch size to a three-inch, and so on. I know that, 
a few years ago, considerable agitation was made in favor 
of what was termed the "one shift system," and fine 
specimens were exhibited by its advocates, to show its 
advantages. There is no question that, in the hands of a 
careful and experienced man, it can be done, but it 
must necessitate much closer watching in watering, in- 
volving much more labor than the trouble of the safer 
plan of repeated shiftings. The time to shift a plant 
from a smaller to a larger pot is shown by the roots be- 
ginning to mat around the outer surface of the ball. It 
is not necessary to shift when the first roots touch the 
side of the pot ; let them curl pretty well around the 
ball, but they must not be allowed to remain long enough 
to become hard or woody. They must be of that con- 
dition known to gardeners as "working roots," a con- 
dition not very easy to describe, unless to say that the 
appearance of such roots is white, soft and succulent. 
We think that the mode of shifting a plant from a 
smaller to a larger pot would soon suggest itself to the 
operator, even though he had never seen it done ; but it 
is a little ludicrous to see the various absurd methods some- 
times resorted to by our amateur friends to attain this 
very simple end. One proceeds with a knife and inserts 
it all around the sides of the pot, and thus scoops it out ; 
another favorite way is to break the pot with a hammer. 
I have known many of our lady amateurs to practice 
these methods, who, no doubt, know avcII how to turn a 
pudding or a jelly out of a form, but who did not think 



66 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

that the ball of earth enveloping the roots of a plant 
could be turned out of a flower-pot in the same way. In 
most cases the slightest tap on the edge of the pot is suffi- 
cient to turn out the ball of earth. Soil, in depth accord- 
ing to the size of the plant, should be placed in the bottom 
of the pot, the ball placed in the center, and the soil 
packed moderately firm in the space between that and 
the sides of the pot, either by the fingers or by a piece of 
wood, made of suitable size for the purpose. When plants 
are first potted off, or shifted, they should be stood with 
the pots touching each other, if the diameter of the plant 
is less than that of the pot ; but, as they begin to develop 
growth, the plants should be spread apart, according to 
their size or development of foliage, to allow the air free 
circulation about the outside of the pots. The effect of this 
is most marked in the greenhouse, and teaches us a les- 
son as to the great necessity of the admission of air to the 
roots in all onr operations, whether under glass, or in the 
open field. If we pot off a lot of Fuchsias, Geraniums, 
or other large-leaved plants, with the pots touching each 
other, and place them in a temperature of sixty degrees, 
in eight or ten days they will have grown so as to cover 
over the whole space, so that the pots can hardly be seen. 
Examine those in the center of the lot, and it will be 
found that the roots that have reached to the side of 
the pot are few and feeble ; but move a portion of the 
pots so that a space of an inch or two is made between 
them, to give the air a free circulation around the pots, 
and in six days after it will be found that strong and 
healthy roots will have been emitted by those that have 
been given the additional space, while the others, left 
standing close, have made little or no progress in root 
formation, and but a slender and weakly upward growth. 
The roots in the open field, could we see them in their 
unbroken state, as we can in turning out a plant from a 



THE POTTING OF PLANTS. 67 

pot, would show the same differences in vitality under 
corresponding circumstances. 

It has often been a matter of surprise to many ama- 
teurs, and even professional gardeners, how it is that such 
extraordinary vigor and health are obtained in the plants 
grown by many New York florists, in pots that seem to 
be entirely inadequate in size for the support of such 
vigor. This is done by a practice not generally known 
outside of this vicinity. When a plant shows by the con- 
dition of its roots that it requires a supply of fresh soil 
for its support, instead of shifting it into a larger pot, it 
is taken out and the soil washed clean from the roots, and 
either placed back again in the same pot, in fresh soil, or 
in one of only a single size larger. 

This washing the soil from the roots, instead of shak- 
ing it off, has the advantage of leaving all the fibres or 
working roots intact, while by shaking the soil from the 
ball, the most valuable parts of the root are injured. 
Plants thus grown are particularly valuable for distant 
shipment, as a strong- rooted and vigorous plant is ob- 
tained without the necessity of shipping a heavy weight 
of soil. 

For many years we have sent to our patrons in the 
trade thousands of plants annually, every particle of soil 
being first washed from the roots ; the plants, in all cases, 
arriving in as fine order as if they had been sent with 
the ball of soil around them, and saving at least nine- 
tenths of the freight. 

This practice, however, is not good, unless the season 
is early enough for the plants to have time to become 
established in the pots, and it is not prudent to do so 
later than March. If the weather is hot, more care is 
necessary in shading the plants until they have begun to 
take root in the new soil. 



68 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

CHAPTER XII. 
DRAINAGE IN POTS. 

Many years ago, in some of my first writings on the 
subject of drainage in pots, I admit to having taken 
rather too radical ground against the practice, because, 
in those days, almost everybody used to " crock " or drain 
the very smallest pots. The absurdity of this soon be- 
came apparent to me, as I found that, with hardly an 
exception, for plants in pots up to the size of four inches, 
it was worse than useless to drain ; and as all my prac- 
tice, up to that time, had been with pots but little larger 
v than four inches, I rather rashly jumped to the conclusion 
that, in our warm, dry atmosphere, the European prac- 
tice of crocking all sizes of flower pots might be wholly 
dispensed with here ; but added experience showed that 
even in our dry atmosphere, flower-pots of five inches in 
diameter and upward, in which are grown Roses or other 
plants with roots sensitive to moisture, had better be 
crocked or drained, particularly if to be grown in winter. 
It is not pleasant to admit an error, particularly when 
promulgated in print for the "instruction" of others; 
but it is better to make what amend is possible, by making 
the acknowledgment, than to continue to stick to opin- 
ions before given, when there is reason to believe these 
were formed in error. 

Draining in Flower Pots. — If the pots are over five 
inches in diameter, charcoal broken into pieces from one- 
half to one inch in diameter, I prefer to every other kind 
of drainage ; this should be in depth from one inch to 
four inches, according to the size of the pot to be drained, 
an extra quantity being necessary if the plant is being 
shifted into a pot too large ; then ample drainage is indis- 



EXPERT GARDEN WORKMEN. 69 

pensable to admit of the quick escape of water. This 
drainage, so called, is not alone of use as a means for the 
rapid escape of water, but also for the admission of air to 
the roots, which brings in another important matter in 
connection with the drainage in pots, the necessity of 
standing them on some rough material (when solid 
benches are used in the greenhouse, or when placed in 
the open air in beds), such as gravel or cinders ; for if 
placed on sand, soil, or anything that will close up the 
orifice in the bottom of the pot, all the drainage placed 
in it will avail nothing. It is far better to use no drain- 
age at all, and stand the pots on a rough surface, than to 
use the drainage and place the pots on some material that 
will close the outlet. If, however, the bench is formed 
of slate, or boards that have been cemented over, so as to 
form a smooth surface, there is no necessity for placing 
any gravel or other rough material under the pots, as such 
a surface will allow the water to pass from the pots more 
freely than if anything, such as gravel, were placed under 
them. For very large pots slatted benches are best. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

EXPERT GARDEN WORKMEN. 

In my long experience with workmen, I have observed 
that, other things being equal, the man who could move 
his hands quickest, was almost certain to be the man 
most successful in life. Rapid movement of the hands in 
such light operations as writing or typesetting, argue 
quick mental decision, and if such a mind is well-balanced, 
its possessor is more likely to distinguish himself than he 
who moves more sluggishly. Now, two- thirds of all garden 
operations — particularly those of flower gardening — are 



70 PKACTICAL FLOKICULTUUE. 

as light as either writing or typesetting, and for many 
years I have taken great pains to stimulate my workmen 
to rapidity of movement in all our light work, and it is 
astonishing what the gain in labor has been in this par- 
ticular. The average work of a man planting Cabbage or 
Lettuce plants, when we began market gardening, did not 
exceed 2,000 a day ; now, and for many years past, a 
man, with a boy to drop the plants, will set 6,000 a day, 
and one of my old foremen, John Scarry, has repeatedly 
planted 10,000 in a day. In the lighter work of our 
greenhouses rapid movement is even of more importance, 
and the rivalry among our workmen for distinction in 
this matter is of great benefit to themselves as well as to 
us. 

Four years ago the acknowledged " Champion " in all 
our force of seventy hands, was a young Irishman named 
James Marvey, who died in 1883 at the age of thirty-two. 
He had been in my employment for nearly twenty years 
and had ever distinguished himself for rapid and neat 
workmanship, for, some years before his death, he had 
repeatedly potted 10,000 cuttings, in two and a half inch 
pots, in ten consecutive hours, and had attained on one 
occasion the extraordinary number of 11,500 in ten con- 
secutive hours. I paid him for years $5.00 per day, and 
always considered him one of our cheapest workmen, 
because, not only did he earn all he got, but his example 
fostered a spirit of emulation among our other em- 
ployees, valuable alike to themselves and to us. 



COLD FRAMES. — WINTER PROTECTION. 71 

CHAPTER XIV. 
COLD FRAMES.— WINTER PROTECTION. 

Many of the plants used for the decoration of the flower 
borders in summer, may be kept through the winter in 
what are termed cold frames, or sunken pits. These are 
formed by excavating the earth about two feet dee}) and 
of a width to suit the usual six-foot sash, and of such 
length as may be required. The sides of the pit are 
boarded up, on the front or south side, to a height of 
eight or ten inches, and at the back or north side, some 
six inches higher, to give the necessary slope to carry off 
the water from the sashes and to better catch the sun's 
rays. Thus formed, the frame will measure about three 
feet deep from the sash in front and about three feet and 
one-half at the back. Or, if the work is desired to be 
permanent, the sides may be built of brick instead of 
boards. 

Above all other considerations, the place where the pit 
is built must be free from standing water, and if not nat- 
urally dry, must bo so drained as to carry off the water. 
A good plan is to cement the bottom of these pits, which 
tends greatly to keep the bottom dry. We adopt this plan 
in all our sunken pits, having the bottom so formed that 
all water is carried off from the front or lower side. 
Whenever practicable, the situation should be warm and 
well sheltered, as such a position will save a great deal in 
winter covering. In such a pit, tender Roses can be kept 
in the best possible condition, better, in our opinion, than 
in any greenhouse. If kept in pots (which is the best 
way to keep them), the pots should be plunged to the rim 
in sawdust, leaves, tan-bark, or some such light material. 
Besides Roses, the plants embraced in the following list 
may be wintered over with safety in this latitude, pro- 



72 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

vided that care is taken to admit light and air, whenever 
the weather will permit. The pits must be thoroughly 
covered up at night with mats and shutters ; this, if well 
done, will keep the plants from freezing injuriously in 
any district where the thermometer does not fall more 
than ten degrees below zero. 

Azaleas, Pentsfcemons, 

Antirrhinums, Verbenas, 

Carnations (Monthly), Stock Gilliflowers, 
Camellias, Wallflowers, 

Fuchsias, Roses of all kinds, 

Geraniums, Pinks, (Florists'). 

Plants to be kept over in frames should be potted at 
least a month previous to the setting in of cold weather ; 
all had better be well established in pots before the 
middle of November, and until that time the plants 
should be fully exposed to the light and air, by the entire 
removal of the sashes, unless on unusually harsh and cold 
days. From the middle of November to the middle of 
March but little watering will be required. In cases of 
severe snow storms, the pit may remain covered up, if 
the weather is cold, for two weeks at a time, without 
exposing the plants to the light, and Roses, Camellias, or 
Azaleas, in a dormant state, may remain even a month ; 
but, as before said, whenever practicable, admit light and 
air. For outdoor protection of Roses, see chapter devoted 
to them. 

Many plants may be saved in a dry, cool cellar. The 
plants that can be best kept during winter in the cellar 
are : Carnations, Fuchsias, Geraniums, Roses, Lemon 
Verbenas and Dahlia roots. If the plants are to be lifted 
from the ground, cut away all strong growing shoots ; in 
the case of Geraniums or Fuchsias, cut them well in, and 
plant them in shallow (six-inch dee])) boxes of soil, 
keeping them exposed to the open air as late as the 
weather will permit. This can be best done by taking 



COLD FRAMES. — WINTER PROTECTION. 73 

them into some shelter at night and exposing them to 
light and air during the day ; this will harden them to 
endure their winter quarters in the cellar. Once placed 
in the cellar, if cool and moist, as cellars usually arc, no 
water should he given until they are again moved out to 
the light in May. Remember that thus immersed in the 
dark cellar in their dormant state, water or moisture will 
injure them beyond recovery, unless they have become 
unusually dry. 

Shallow cold frames are used for keeping Pansies, Car- 
nations, Daisies, Forget-me-nots, Primroses, Auriculas, 
etc., over winter. They are formed by using a ten or 
twelve inch board for the back and a seven or nine inch 
board for the front of the frame, which should be of a 
width that can be covered by a six-foot sash. All of the 
plants above named, will keep safely over winter without 
other covering than the sash, but if wanted for early 
flowers, it will pay well to cover at night with shutters, or, 
better, with straw mats. There has been recently intro- 
duced a thin, light fabric, which has been named "protect- 
ing cloth," which, after April 25th, answers all the pur- 
poses of sashes in this latitude. When all danger of severe 
freezing is past, and at a time when greenhouses get 
crowded with bedding plants, such as Geraniums, Ver- 
benas, Roses, or other plants tliat can be grown at a low 
temperature, the covering with this cloth will answer 
quite as well as sashes — in fact, in inexperienced hands, 
better, for there is no danger of the frames being too 
much heated when so covered, as is the case with sashes, 
if ventilation has been neglected. " Sashes " formed of 
the protecting cloth can be made for twenty-five or thirty 
cents each, as the cloth can be bought for nine or ten 
cents per yard, and all that is necessary is to tack it on to 
a light frame and you have a cover as useful during the 
months of May and June as a glass sash would be, costing 
ten times as much. We have also found this covering: of 



74 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

the protecting cloth sash to be an excellent covering for 
Pansy and other seeds sown in the fall, as it keeps the 
ground moist, preventing it from drying up by the sun 
and air, and giving just the amount necessary for the 
germination of seeds ; but it should not be used to cover 
anything in this latitude from the first of December to 
the middle of April, as it would not answer in severe 
weather. 



CHAPTER XV. 
THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOT-BEDS. 

The most economical way of making hot-beds is to 
place the manure in pits made in the way described for 
cold frames, except that they may be made a foot or so 
deeper, so as to admit at least eighteen inches of manure. 
The heating material for hot-beds is usually horse manure, 
but refuse hops, leaves from the woods, or tan-bark, will 
answer nearly as well when one is more readily attainable 
than another. 

Whatever material is employed, it should be thrown into 
a heap of sufficient size to generate heat, and be repeat- 
edly turned until the rank heat has been expelled, which 
will usually be done by turning twice. The mass will be 
in the proper condition to be put into the pit in eight or 
ten days from the time of starting with the raw 
material. In spreading it in the pit, it should be firmly 
trodden down to the depth of eighteen inches, so that 
the heat may be longer retained. If the hot-bed is to be 
used to receive plants in pots, a covering of four to six 
inches of sawdust, in which to place or plunge the pots, 
should be put over the heating material. If the bed is to 
be used for the sowing of annual or other seeds, a covering 
of six inches of light soil should be put over the manure. 
Before placing plants, or sowing seeds in the hot-beds, 



CONSTRUCTION OF HOT-BEDS. 75 

plunge a thermometer in the bed, and when the heat begins 
to decline from 100 degrees, then operations may be 
begun with safety. But for whatever purpose a hot-bed 
is used, in all such latitudes as New York, the beds should 
never be made before the first week in March ; great risk 
is run if they are made much sooner, with but little ad- 
vantage in earliness. Greater caution is necessary in air- 
ing than with the cold frame, for with the hot-bed the 
heat from the manure, together with that of the sun's 
rays, will often, in an hour, run the temperature so high 
as to destroy its entire contents, if airing at the proper 
time lias been neglected. Many a merchant, doing busi- 
ness in the city, has gone home in the evening to his 
country residence to find that his hot-bed, that had been 
his pride in the morning, had become a scorched brown 
mass at night for want of attention to the safety-valve of 
"airing." In such cases, when no competent person is 
in charge, the safest way is to tilt the sashes a few inches, 
even before the necessity arises, rather than run the risk 
of the sun comiftg out strong, and destroying the whole. 
In a southern exposure, in a sheltered place, there is 
rarely danger in admitting air in most days in March or 
April from nine to four o'clock. But, of course, judg- 
ment must be used in extreme cases. The greater heat 
in the hot-beds necessitates watering freely whenever the 
surface of the soil appears dry, which, in dry weather, if 
the heat is strong, will usually be every other day. In 
the absence of sashes, the "protecting cloth " alluded to 
in the chapter on cold frames, can be used to cover the 
hot-bed. Its use is safer than that of glass sashes, for the 
bed does not heat up as if covered by sashes — in fact, there 
is no necessity of ventilating at all, if covered by the 
"cloth sashes," although in mild days they should be 
taken off altogether to admit the light to the plants, but 
protecting cloth should not be used ou the hot-beds 
sooner than the middle of March. 



76 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

CHATTER XVI. 
GREENHOUSE STRUCTURES. 

I have a peculiar pleasure in beginning to describe our 
present modes of constructing greenhouses, well knowing 
that hundreds of my readers will turn with interest to 
this page, in the hope that they may be enlightened on a 
subject on which doubtless many of them have seriously 
blundered. I have no reason to complain of success in 
business, but I feel well assured that, for the first ten 
years of my time, many thousands of dollars were sacri- 
ficed in the blunders made in my endeavors to get on the 
right track. 

There was no fixed system ; all was confusion, hardly 
two of us building alike, and, in my humble opinion, most 
of us building wrong. 

The style of greenhouse to be built must be governed 
by the purpose for which it is wanted. .If for the grow- 
ing of a general assortment of greenhouse or bedding- 
plants, many years' experience in working of those on 
the ridge and furrow system, on the extensive scale in use 
by us, makes us confident in the belief that this system 
is all we have previously claimed for it, as being the most 
economical of space, most economical of heat, and most 
economical in cost of construction. 

For greenhouses to be constructed of movable sashes, 
figure 16 represents the end section and ground plan of 
the style of house referred to, which may be used for the 
purpose of growing Roses, greenhouse or bedding-plants, 
or anything requiring protection in winter. The green- 
houses represented in this plan are 100 feet in length, 
and each eleven feet wide inside. The heating of the 
whole (that is, the three measuring from the outside walls 
thirty-six by one hundred feet) is done by one of Hitch- 



GREENHOUSE STRUCTURES. 



77 




B 


© 


© 


K 


^Mjl 








D 




Fill. 16. — GREENHOUSE HEATED BT HOT WATER PIPES. 



78 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

ing's Combination Boilers (C), heating about 1,200 feet 
of four-inch pipe (D). The glass roof (E) is formed of 
portable sashes, each six feet by three feet ; each alter- 
nate sash is screwed down, the others being movable, so 
that a full supply of air can be given when necessary". 

The movable sash is elevated by an iron bar fifteen 
inches long, attached to the sash by a staple ; in this bar 
three holes are punched, at distances of three inches 
apart ; by means of these holes the bar can be hooked 
upon an iron pin placed in the ridge-pole, and thus 
hold the sash more or less open, to graduate the admis- 
sion of air. When the sash is shut down, the bar is 
hooked on to a pin that secures it in place, so that the 
sash cannot be moved by wind. I am particular to 
describe this method of airing, as it is, as far as our expe- 
rience has gone, the best method we have ever seen used. 
The ridge-poles are cut out exactly as is shown at J, and 
the sash lays on the shoulder, braced by the angle shown 
in the cut. The interior arrangements are shown by the 
end section. G shows the bench, or table, as it is com- 
pleted. The space beneath the bench, if bottom heat is 
required for propagating or other purposes, should be 
boarded up below the bottom of the pipes, the lower board 
being hinged, so that, on cold nights, additional heat can 
be given to the atmosphere of the house, if required. But 
for the general uses of growing plants, the benches must 
be left open below, so that the heat given out by the 
pipes will pass freely to all parts of the house. If one 
house is wanted of a higher temperature than the others, 
it will be necesary to board up along the posts from the 
ground to the top of the posts, and by wholly or partially 
shutting the valves in the pipes of the other houses, 
throw a greater heat into the one in which the high tem- 
perature is wanted. The walks through the house (K ) 
are two feet wide, which leaves four feet and one-half on 
each side for bench room. These widths we find to be 



GREENHOUSE STRUCTURES. 79 

most convenient for the working of the plants ; if nar- 
rower, too much space would be lost ; if wider, the fur- 
ther side of the benches could not be reached easily. 

The width of the walk, however, must be determined 
by what the greenhouses are designed for ; if for workmen 
merely, two feet, or even less room, will do for the walk ; 
but if visitors are to be accommodated, it should be at 
least two feet and one-half in width. 

A bri<;k shed (A) covers the boiler pit (F), and is 
attached to the north end of the houses, the back wall 
being about tvelve feet high, the front eight feet, width 
sixteen feet ; besides breaking off the north wind from 
the greenhouses, we find this shed indispensable as 
a potting and packing room. It will be understood that 
these greenhouses have their ends north and south ; con- 
sequently one side is exposed to the east in the morning, 
the other to the west in the afternoon, while at noonday 
the rays of the sun strike directly upon the apex of the 
roof. There is nothing arbitrary in having the green- 
houses end north and south ; a point to the east or west 
would not make any material difference, but, if circum- 
stances will admit, we prefer them to end direct north 
and south. 

At present prices, built in a plain, substantial manner, 
with the outer walls of brick or stone, and heated with 
hot water, they will cost about $8 per running foot, or 
$2,400 for the three connected — that is, the range of 
three greenhouses 100 feet long by thirty-three feet wide, 
together with the shed to cover the boiler-pit ; if put up 
singly, the cost would be at least ten per cent. more. If 
walls are formed of wood, which we now prefer, the whole 
cost might be* lessened ten or fifteen per cent. 

Another plan in use is shown in figure 17, combining the 
flue and boiler, from the same furnace. This is the most 
economical plan in which hot water can be used. As 
shown in the engraving, there are two houses joined 



80 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 




Fig. 17.— PLAN OP HOUSE HEATED BY BOTH FLUE AND PIPES. 



GREENHOUSE STRUCTURES. 



81 



together, each eleven feet wide by seventy feet in length. 
For colder sections of the country than the vicinity of 
New York, from lifty to sixty feet in length would, prob- 
ably be sufficient, but much depends on exposure, and 
the manner in which the building is constructed. One 
of the houses is heated by the flue, F ; the other by the 
pipes, P. The boiler, b, shown in the end view of the 
same house, figure 18, is what is termed a "saddle" 
boiler, which answers at the same time the double purpose 
of an arch for the furnace and a boiler. The fire in this 




Fig. 18. — END VIEW OF FIGURE 17. 

furnace does nearly the same amount of heating as two 
such fires, if used in heating by flues only. Thus, by this 
combination of flue and pipes, the construction of the 
heating arrangements costs about fifty per cent, less than 
if the house were heated entirely by hot water. The 
probable cost of two houses of this kind, each seventy by 
eleven feet, so heated, and otherwise complete, would 
cost about $1,000. In erecting all houses on the ridge 
and furrow plan, the site should, whenever practicable, 
be such as will admit of extension by future buildings, to 
meet the increase of business. A good plan in beginning 
is, to erect three houses, as shown in figure 19, fifty 
feet in length, so situated, that as business increases, 
and with more means in hand, the south ends can be 



82 



PEACTICAL FL0KICULTL11E. 





1 1 R 


K 






3»- D -n 


) 


J 


(- D ■< 












(- 

I I 


1 






f 
D 


K 




\ I 

] \ 

IT 




K 


D B 




L L 

c c 

A 






Fig. 19.— GREENHOUSE HEATED BY FLUES. 



GREENHOUSE STRUCTURES. 83 

taken out, the walls extended twenty-five or fifty feet 
further, the flues thrown out, and the heating done, hy 
hot water or steam. For, whenever it can be afforded, 
the heating by hot water or steam will be found to be 
much the best ; not that there is very much saving in fuel 
over heating by flues, but it is more durable, more free 
from danger from fire, or the escaping of gases, so trouble- 
some with flues; besides it is an immense saving of labor, 
more particularly if the greenhouses are extensive. Al- 
though there is less danger from fire when greenhouses 
are heated by steam or hot-water boilers, yet all care 
should be used. One of the dangers is in covering 
the boiler-pit with wooden beams, which, if jnaced too 
near the chimney, often ignite. Every season there are 
many greenhouse fires from this cause. In our own 
establishment all our pits are covered with railroad iron, 
over which are built brick arches ; even the ladders lead- 
ing down to the boilers are of iron. 

CHEAP GREENHOUSES — HOW TO HEAT THEM. 

In the American Agriculturist for November, 1874, I 
described and gave a diagram of a method of heating a 
greenhouse twenty feet wide by one hundred feet long, 
by the ordinary smoke-flue and with only one fire. Here- 
tofore it had been believed that it was impossible to heat 
a structure of that size with but one furnace, and few 
ever risked a house more than one-third of the size with 
a single fire. The principle there described, although 
not a new one (as I afterwards ascertained, as it had been 
recorded in the Transactions of the London Horticultural 
Society some fifty years before), had certainly never been 
generally practised, and its publication in the American 
Agriculturist created a great deal of interest, and also 
involved me in an extensive correspondence. In that 
article I showed only its application to that particular 



84 



PRACTICAL FLOKICULTURE. 



structure, which was too large and expensive for the wants 
of beginners in floriculture. I will here show how other 
houses of different designs and of smaller dimensions may 
he heated on the same principle. Figure 20 shows three 
of the usual ridge and furrow houses, which are sixty feet 
long and eleven feet wide, each, with a furnace-room or 
shed, at one end, which is twelve by thirty-three feet. 
Of course, the length may be increased or diminished as 
desired, but this width is found to be the most convenient. 

«* — - ---60'-- — 



*— 12/-- 



F.R. 



-$- 



U7;- 



s- 



CF== 



W 




Fig. 20.— plan of three houses combined. — Length,60 ft.; width,33ft. 

F, R, Furnace Room, 12x33 ft.; B, B, Benches, 4* ft. wide; W, W, Walks, 

2 ft. wide; S, S, Smoke-flue for heating; C, F, Furnace, with Chimney built 

on top of it. 

It will be seen that the three greenhouses are heated by 
two furnaces, the flue being so disposed under the center 
benches of the houses as not to cross any of the pathways. 
This gives, of course, two runs of the flue to the middle 
house, and only one run each to the outside houses. This 
would, in coldest weather, give a temperature of forty 
degrees to the outside houses, and sixty or sixty-five 
degrees to the middle house, which has two runs of flues. 
This difference in temperature is indispensable in a gen- 
eral collection of plants, and the neglect of it is, more 
than anything else, the cause of failure where growers 



GREENHOUSE STRUCTURES. 



85 



have but one greenhouse. It will bo necessary to have 
the flues built as close to the walks as possible, so that 
the heat may be evenly distributed in the two outside 
houses. The cost of three greenhouses, each eleven by 
sixty feet, connected as shown on the plan, heated by 
flues, would be about I6C0 at present prices in this 
locality. Figure 21 shows a greenhouse twenty feet wide 
by sixty feet long, with furnace-room, or shed, twelve by 
twenty feet. Here again the flues are so disposed as to 
avoid crossing the walks, being placed under the center 
bench, but as near as possible to the walk on each side, 




Fig. 21. — PLAN OF A SINGLE HOUSE.— 60x20 ft. 

F, R, Furnace Room, 12x20 ft.; B, B, Side Benches, 4 ft. wide; C, C, Cen- 
ter Bench, 8 ft. wide ; W, IF, Walks, 2 ft. wide ; S, S, Smoke- 
flue ; C F, Furnace, with Chimney above. 

so that the heat may be evenly diffused throughout. This 
is our favorite style of greenhouse to heat by a flue, and 
such as is now mostly used by beginners ; it would, in this 
locality, at present prices, if built of wood, cost about 1400. 
If a difference in temperature is required in a house of this 
kind, it may be obtained by running a glass partition 
across the house, say at twenty-five feet from the furnace 
end, which will, of course, make that end the hottest. 
It will be seen that the principle set forth in my article of 
November, 1874, is carried out in both these plans, and it 
would be unsafe to attempt to heat greenhouses of these di- 
mensions without conforming to it. Its peculiarity consists 
in running the flue, in each case, back to the furnace 
from which it starts and into the chimney, which is built 



88 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

on the top of the furnace, not in the furnace, as some 
have supposed. As soon as a fire is lighted in the 
furnace, the brick-work forming the arch gets heated, 
and at once starts an upward draft, which puts the 
smoke-fiue into immediate action and maintains it ; 
hence there is never any trouble about the draft, as in 
ordinary flues having the chimney at the most distant 
point from the furnace. By this plan we not only get rid 
of the violent heat given out by the furnace, but at the 
same time it ensures a complete draft, the heated air from 
the furnace being rapidly carried through the entire 
length of the flue, so that it is nearly as hot when it enters 
the chimney as when it leaves the furnace. This perfect 
draft, also does away with all danger of the escape of gas 
from the flues into the greenhouse, which often happens 
when the draft is not active. Although no system of 
heating by smoke-flues is so satisfactory as by hot water, 
yet there are hundreds who have neither the means nor 
the inclination to go to the greater expense of hot water 
heating, and to such, this revived method is one that will, 
to a great extent, simplify and cheapen the erection of 
greenhouses. Many old-established florists, who have 
had the old plan of flues in use, have changed them to 
the one here described, and with great satisfaction. The 
wonder is that such an important fact has been so long 
overlooked, for at the time it was discovered, heating 
greenhouses by flues was almost the only method in use. 
In constructing the furnace for flue heating, the size 
of the furnace doors should be, for a greenhouse twenty 
by fifty, about fourteen inches square, and the length of 
the furnace bars thirty inches ; the furnace should be 
arched over, and the top of the inside of the arch should 
be about twenty inches from the bar. The flue will 
always draw better if slightly on the ascent throughout 
its entire length. It should be elevated in all cases from 
the ground, on flags or bricks, so that its heat may be 



GREENHOUSE STRUCTURES. 87 

given out on all sides. The inside measure of the brick 
flue should not be less than eight by fourteen inches. If 
tiles can be conveniently procured, they are best to cover 
with ; but, if not, the top of the flue may be contracted 
to six inches, and covered with bricks. 

After the flue has been built of brick to twenty-five or 
thirty feet from the furnace, cement or vitrified drain 
pipes, eight or nine inches in diameter, should be used, as 
they are not only cheaper, but radiate the heat quicker 
than the bricks ; they are also much easier constructed 
and cleaned. Care should be taken that no woodwork is 
in contact with the flue at any place. It should be taken 
as a safe rule, that woodwork should in no case be nearer 
the flue or furnace than eight inches. In constructing, 
do not be influenced by what the mechanics will tell you, 
as few of them have any experience in such matters, and 
are not able to judge of the dangers resulting from wood- 
work being in close contact with the heated bricks. 

On one occasion I had in use two houses heated with 
flues each about 100 feet in length. The chimneys had 
been made of wood, and they had been safely used for 
three winters, but on the occasion of a severe storm in 
winter, when our fires were going at full blast, both of 
them took fire within an hour of each other, though fully 
10(7 feet from the furnace. Fortunately the chimneys 
had been attached to the outside of the house, and were 
knocked off without material injury being done. On 
another occasion, a house containing upwards of 10,000 
plants took fire by a workman placing kindling wood on 
the flue near the furnace. The result was great injury 
to the greenhouse, and total destruction of its contents. 
I mention these cases, to show the necessity of the utmost 
caution. Every winter there are are hundreds of fires 
originating in greenhouses by the woodwork taking fire 
either from smoke flues, or when the heating is done by 



88 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

hot water. In the case of hot water the dangerous point 
is from the smoke pipe, which is in many cases placed 
under the beams that support the flooring that covers 
the furnace pit. In all such cases the beams should be 
' covered with asbestos, and an air space of at least nine 
inches left between the beams and the smoke pipe. In 
our own establishment all our furnace pits are covered 
over with railroad iron for beams, over which brick 
arches are sprung ; even the ladders used to get down to 
the boilers are iron, thus using every precaution against 
fire. This, though somewhat costly, is in the end much 
cheaper than insurance, for thus protected there is hardly 
a possibility of damage from fire. Our greenhouse 
establishment was begun in 1848, nearly forty years ago, 
and yet in all that time our total loss from fire was con- 
fined to the loss of the 10,000 plants above alluded, to 
which at the season of the year it occurred was replaced 
at an expense of, perhaps, $200. 

The (lost of Construction must necessarily be only 
approximate, according to the manner in which the work 
is done, when done, and the ever-changing cost of material 
and labor. At this date, 1887, greenhouses, as shown in 
figure 10, when finished and heated by hot water, com- 
plete, would cost in this vicinity about $15 per running 
foot; if by steam, $13 per running foot, or by flues, $9 per 
running foot, less or more according to the extent — less if 
joined in blocks of three attached than when built singly. 

GREENHOUSES ATTACHED TO DWELLINGS. 

One of the most frequent inquiries made to me is : 
" How can I attach agreen-house to my dwelling-house ?" 
Nothing is more simple, so far as the greenhouse is con- 
cerned, but the difficulty is to heat a small structure of 
this kind. Many may not know that even in this latitude, 



GREENIIOUSE STRUCTURES. 



89 



a greenhouse without artificial heat can be made very- 
useful, in fact, even better in inexperienced hands, than 
one that is heated, if not used before the end of April ; 
after that date, glass protection alone is sufficient fur 
nearly all kinds of bedding- plants. 

In the diagram of an end section of a simple house, 
figure 22, the sashes (B and C) are three feet wide by six 
long ; the top one is so placed that it can be let down over 




Fig. 22.— SECTION OF A CHEAP GREENHOUSE. 

the lower one by weights and pulleys, and thus secure ven- 
tilation. 

A greenhouse of this kind, twenty-five feet long by 
eleven feet wide, should not cost more than $100 com- 
plete, if plainly built ; that is, without heating. Heat- 
ing is a difficult matter in greenhouses so attached to 
dwellings, unless in cases where there is a surplus heat 
at night, from furnaces or stoves in the rooms adjoining. 
In such cases, the windows or doors, if low enoirgh, could 



90 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

be opened, and enough heat be supplied from the rooms 
of the dwelling ; or, better yet, if it were so arranged that 
a register from the furnace opened into the floor of the 
greenhouse. But when this supply of artificial heat can- 
not be obtained, the greenhouse as it is, will be sufficient 
to protect plants against any frost that is likely to occur 
in this latitude after April 20th, particularly if light 
wooden shutters are put over the lower tier of sashes. I 
have recommended this style of greenhouse to many 
dealers and retail florists in the different States. Those 
who are simply dealers in plants, experience great diffi- 
culty and loss in keeping what they purchase for sale, in 
stores or dwelling rooms ; for if not sold at once, they 
quickly get injured. But this cheap and simple style of 
greenhouse, not only by its appearance advertises their 
business as dealers in flowers, but it enables them to buy 
from the wholesale florists at an earlier season. Besides 
this, they can purchase in March and April, at less than 
half what the same plants would cost in May, and it gives 
them time to repot into larger pots. Placing them in the 
greenhouse, where they have sufficient space to grow, the 
plants that are bought for $5 per 100 in March, with but 
little trouble in potting, airing and watering, will freely 
retail for twenty-five cents each in May. These green- 
houses are also economical and useful to the amateur who 
purchases for his flower garden in the spring. Bedding- 
plants, as they are called, cannot be safely planted out in 
the Northern States until the middle of May, and if the 
amateur buys from the florist then, he generally pays 
quite double the price that he could purchase the same 
plants for in March or April, for the florist always wants 
room in his greenhouses, and can better afford to sell a 
dozen Geraniums in March for seventy-five cents than for 
$1.50 in May. Besides, the plants if purchased in March, 
and shifted into larger pots, and allowed plenty of room 
to grow, would be far better than could be purchased at 



GREENITOUSE STRUCTURES. !)1 

any price from the overcrowded tables of the florists in 
May. The care of such plants in the greenhouse is very 
simple. The board benches or tables, i7and G, should be 
covered with two inches of sand, upon which to stand the 
pots ; place them so far apart that the leaves will not 
touch ; water thoroughly whenever the surface of the soil 
in the pot appears dry, which will be every day in hot 
weather. Ventilate by letting down the sashes, more or 
less, as the day is warm or cold, whenever the thermom- 
eter indicates seventy-five or eighty degrees ; in other 
words, keep the temperature in the day-time as near as 
may be to sixty or sixty-five degrees, as marked by a ther- 
mometer in the greenhouse where the sun will not strike 
it. Burn half a pound of damp tobacco stems on the 
floor of the greenhouse twice a week, to destroy the aphis. 
One dealer in Maine informed me, that from a greenhouse 
so constructed, thirty feet long by eleven feet wide, placed 
against the south side of a high board fence, he sold in 
six weeks, sufficient bedding- plants that he had purchased, 
and vegetable plants that he had raised from seed, to .af- 
ford him a profit of $200, or nearly double the cost of his 
greenhouse. 

A greenhouse attached to a dwelling, instead of being 
covered with glass, may be covered by stretching the 
" protecting cloth " already alluded to over the rafters, 
which would give light enough and give sufficient pro- 
tection to any kind of plants by May 1st. A greenhouse 
twenty-five feet by eleven, so covered, could be built for 
$50, attached to a wall or dwelling, and plants would do 
quite as well in it in May or June, as if covered by glass ; 
no ventilation is needed when the protecting cloth is 
used. There are now hundreds beginning the florist's bus- 
iness, by buying a few plants to sell in spring, that would 
find their profits doubled by the use of this very cheap 
style of a greenhouse ; the covering by the protecting 
cloth would cost only about one-tenth that of the glass 



92 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

covering. A glass sash three by six feet costs from $2.50 
to $3, while a "sash " of the same size, made of the pro- 
tecting cloth, would cost from twenty-five to thirty cents. 
The covering by protecting cloth, however, could not be 
very well used in winter, as it would not sustain a weight 
of snow, but it might be used to great advantage in the 
Southern States. 

These greenhouses can also be used for all the purposes 
of a hot-bed, thus: Soil placed to the thickness of four 
inches on the benches will grow fine plants of all varieties 
of vegetables, if the proper time in sowing the different 
kinds is attended to — presuming that the greenhouse has 
no artificial heat or other than that produced by the sun's 
rays which pass through the glass. In this latitude, Cab- 
bage, Cauliflower and Lettuce seed had better be sown 
about the 15th of March. By attention to ventilating and 
watering, fine plants may be had in five or six weeks from 
time of sowing, which will just bring them into the proper 
season for planting in open ground. Tomatoes, Pepper, 
and Egg-plant, and the tenderer kinds of flower seeds, 
should not be sown much sooner than the end of April. 
True, they would not be so early as if sown a month soouer 
in a hot-bed, and replanted into the greenhouse bench 
in May, but if no hot-bed is at hand, the protection of 
the greenhouse over these tender plants in May will give 
satisfactory results, if earliness is not particularly desired. 

I have so many inquiries about the heating and general 
construction of cheap greenhouses, that I am compelled 
to give instructions which are known now to nearly every 
one in and around our large cities. Yet, simple though 
the matter may be to us who see so much of it, it is evi- 
dently perplexing enough, when they come to construct, 
for those who have nothing to copy from. Those of us 
who write on such subjects too often take for granted that 
those for whom we write know something about the mat- 
ter, when for the most part they really know nothing. 



WIDE GKEEN1I0USE AND HOSE HOUSE. 93 

The cheapest kind of construction is the lean-to just 
described, that is, where there is anything to lean it 
against, such as the gable of house or barn. But if the 
greenhouse has to be constructed entirely new, I think 
the span-roof is best — see figure 23. The roof can be 
formed by the ordinary three by six feet sashes, placed as 
shown on figure 22, " Section of a Cheap Greenhouse," or 
what is better and which is the plan now in general use, 
is to make the roof fixed, using bars one by two inches, 
in which the glass is laid. For ordinary greenhouse work 
the glass used is eight by ten inches, put in the ten-inch 
way, but for Rose forcing houses, or for other plants grown 
for flowers in winter, a larger size glass should be used — 
say, twelve by sixteen inches, put in the twelve-inch way. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

WIDE GREENHOUSES FOR BEDDING PLANTS AND 
ROSE GROWING. 

The plans and descriptions of greenhouses given in the 
preceding pages, have been mainly for narrow green- 
houses eleven feet wide, but further experience has led 
me to believe that the wide greenhouse, twenty feet wide, 
is for general purposes better than the narrow. The most 
approved plan of greenhouse for growing bedding plants 
for commercial purposes is that shown by figure 23, 
which usually average twenty feet in width, and are of a 
uniform length of 100 feet. Of course, the length is a 
matter of convenience, but the width we find is an im- 
portant point to consider ; for if over twenty feet the 
benches are too wide to reach easily, and if under twenty 
feet, room is lost by the necessity of having two walks in 
a narrow space. Figure 24 shows the inside arrangement 
of this style of greenhouse as we have it in use. One 



94 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 




section shows a bench in the 
middle, the other either a 
solid bed of soil or a raised 
bench, as desired. The scale 
(one-eighth of an inch to 
the foot) will give the height 
of the walls, benches, etc. 

These greenhouses are 
joined together on the ridge 
and furrow plan, having 
one slope to the west and 
the other slope to the east ; 
but if wanted for the pur- 
pose of growing rose-buds 
in winter, or, in short, for 
almost any kind of plants 
grown for the flowers dur- 
ing the winter months, this 
style of greenhouse (that 
shown by figure 23) is not 
so well suited, as it is found 
that, when joined on the 
ridge and furrow plan, they 
shade each other in the dull 
winter months, and that 
there is not sufficient light 
for the best development of 
flowers, so that we now find 
that for all kinds of flower- 
ing plants, Roses particular- 
ly, the greenhouse struc- 
ture should stand alone, 
leaving an empty space of 
fifteen or sixteen feet be- 
tween the houses, and be 
of the style known as the 



WIDE GltEENIIOUSE AND HOSE 1IOUSE. 



95 



three-quarter span ; that is, having an angle of about 
thirty-two degrees to the horizon to the south, and an 
angle of thirty-six or thirty-eight degrees to the north, 
as shown by figure 25, which is on the same scale. 

For the same reason (the necessity of sunlight in win- 
ter), the woodwork should be made as light as possible 
consistent with strength, and for this purpose I prefer to 
use well-seasoned yellow pine, as it has more strength, in 




Fig. 34.— bose house, end section.— (Scale '/e of an inch to the foot.) 



proportion to bulk, than white pine. It is also necessary 
to use glass not less than ten by twelve inches, put in the 
twelve-inch way. Many now use twelve by sixteen inches, 
put in the twelve-inch way. This style of greenhouse is 
now preferred for forcing Lettuce, Strawberries, and other 
fruits and vegetables in winter, as well as flowering plants, 
as they, too, require all the light that it is possible to ob- 
tain. 

Although this style of greenhouse would also shade, if 
joined together on the ridge aud furrow plan, when built 
on level ground, yet, whenever a convenient location can 
be had, where the ground slopes to the south at an angle 
of ten or fifteen degrees, they may be joined together, as 



96 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 




WIDE GREENHOUSE AND ROSE HOUSE. 97 

seen in figure 25 (one-eight of an inch to the foot scale), 
which shows a slope or angle of fifteen degrees. 

It will be noticed in this design (figure 25) that the 
larger number of pipes are placed under the front bench, 
there being four there, while there are only two under the 
back bench. The slope of the ground makes this arrange- 
ment necessary in order to secure an equal distribution 
of heat. It will be observed that there are six "runs" 
of four-inch pipe for each house; this Avill give a temper- 
ature of fifty degrees at night in the coldest weather. If 
a higher temperature is wanted, an additional " run " of 
pipe should be added for every five degrees. For fur- 
ther information see "Modes of Heating," page 98. 
AVith the ordinary arrangement of pipes (half under 
each bench), the back of the house would always be 
much the warmest, as a moment's reflection will make 
manifest. The position of the ventilators near the ridge 
is distinctly marked in this and all the other figures, the 
dotted lines showing a ventilator raised or open. The 
position of the benches is also shown. Through the mid- 
dle there may be either a bench or a solid bed of earth. 
By use of the scale (one-eighth of an inch to the foot) the 
proportions of the details of this house may be readily 
obtained. 

The construction of greenhouses when formed of con- 
crete, stone, or brick, is not only more costly, but after 
the wall has risen to the surface of the ground, it is found 
that, unless the wall of stone or brick is very thick indeed, 
the high temperature and moisture inside of a greenhouse 
soon injures the mason work by warring with the low 
temperature outside, particularly on the north or north- 
west side. For this reason it has been found that wooden 
Avails, for ordinary purposes, are equally as good as an 
eight-inch brick wall for resisting cold, far cheaper, and 
more durable. 

A common error with the inexperienced is to build the 



98 PKACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

wooden wall of a greenhouse hollow, filling up the space 
with sawdust, or some such non-conducting material. 
The method found hest is to sink locust, cedar, or chest- 
nut posts to the required depth, and at distances of four 
or six feet apart ; against these (outside) nail common 
rough boards ; then against these tack asphalt or tarred 
paper, and against that nail the ordinary weather board- 
ing. Such a wall will resist cold better than an eight- 
inch brick wall, and will last for twenty years, if kept 
painted. If a better finish is desired inside, the posts can 
be hid by weather boarding ; but nothing should be put 
in to fill the space. When the walls have been finished 
to the required height, the wall plate to secure the rafters 
is laid on. Supporting posts should be placed under the 
ridge-pole, and also near the middle of the rafters, where 
these are very long, as is the case in many of the three- 
quarter span houses. At present prices, the cost of a 
Hose House, as shown in figure 24, is about $15 per run- 
ning foot, heated by hot water or steam, complete, or 
$1,500. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

GLASS, GLAZING AND SHADING. 

If for winter forcing of either fruit or flowers, the 
glass should (as we have before said) be not less than ten 
by twelve inches in size, and laid in the twelve-inch way. 
It should be of what is known as second quality French, 
and it is economy always to use the double thick. All 
panes should be rejected having flaws or " blebs," as these 
will act like lenses, and, forming a focus for the sun's 
rays, will burn the leaves of the plants ; but even with the 
greatest care, some flaws will usually remain, and less or 



GLASS AND GLAZING. 99 

more burn the leaves after the sun becomes strong ; to 
counteract this, a slight shading had better be used on 
the glass from April to September. We use naphtha, 
with just enough white lead mixed in it to give it the 
appearance of thin milk. This we put on with a syringe, 
which sufficiently covers up all flaws in the glass to pre- 
vent burning, and at the same time tends to cool the 
house by mitigating the violence of the sun's rays. This 
is by far the cheapest and best shading we have ever used. 
It can be gradated to any degree of thickness, and costs 
only about twenty-five cents per 1,000 square feet of glass, 
for material and labor. 

In glazing, the method now almost universally adopted 
is to bed the glass in putty, and tack it on top with 
glazier's points, using no putty on the top. The glazier's 
points are triangular, one corner of which is turned down, 
so that when it is driven in, it fits the lower edge of each 
pane and prevents it from slipping down. A great mis- 
take is often made in giving the glass too much lap ; it 
should only be given just enough to cover the edge of the 
pane (from one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch). If 
given too much, the water gets in between the panes, and 
when it freezes it cracks the glass. 

Although no putty is used on the top of the bars, we 
have found it an excellent plan to fill an ordinary oil-can, 
such as is used for machinery, with white lead and oil, 
and by its narrow-pointed funnel run a thin stream of 
the white lead at the edge where the glass fits against the 
bar; by shaking dry sand over this, it forms a cement that 
will hold for many years. We find this, even on old green- 
houses, to be an excellent plan for closing up leakage and 
firming the glass. Had I known of this most excellent 
method of glazing twenty years ago, I would have saved 
at least $10,000 that it has cost me in that time for 
repairs. 



100 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

CHAPTER XIX. 
MODES OF HEATING. 

Until the past few years the almost universal plan of 
heating commercial greenhouses was by hot water, and 
as that plan has yet many advocates, we herewith give 
some of the leading points to observe when it is used ; 
further on, we will refer to steam heating as now being 
adopted in many large establishments. 

In heating by hot water, it is important that the work 
be given to some reputable firm, Avhose knowledge is such 
as will enable them not only to judge what is the proper 
capacity of the boiler for the number of pipes to be used, 
but also how many pipes are necessary to be used for the 
surface of glass to be heated. Men who have done a 
large business in heating greenhouses, have far better 
opportunities for knowledge in this matter than the aver- 
age gardener or florist ; and if those erecting greenhouses 
have not had extensive and varied practice, they had 
better be guided by the men who make a business of heat- 
ing, as the want of the requisite knowledge of these 
matters often works serious mischief. Of course, the 
size of the greenhouse or greenhouses to be heated must 
determine the capacity of the boiler required ; but the 
boiler being properly apportioned to the length of pipe, 
the following data, used in our own establishment 
(which is mostly heated by hot water), may be useful. 
In our houses, which are twenty feet wide and one hun- 
dred feet long, when a night temperature of seventy de- 
grees is required in the coldest weather, ten runs or rows 
of four-inch pipe, five on each side, are required ; when 
sixty degrees is wanted, eight runs of pipe, four on each 
side ; when fifty degrees is wanted, six runs of pipe will 
be needed ; and when only thirty-five or forty degrees is 



HEATI2STG BY STEAM. 101 

required, four rims of pipe will meet the requirement. 
This is for the latitude of New York City, where the 
temperature rarely falls lower than ten degrees below zero. 
Latitudes north or south of New York should be graded 
accordingly. If estimated by glass surface, about one 
foot in length of four-inch pipe is necessary for every 
three and a half square feet of glass surface, when the 
temperature is at ten degrees below zero, to keep a tem- 
perature of 50 degrees in the greenhouse. • We now place 
all our pipes under the side benches, as that enables us to 
use the space under the middle bench for safely stowing 
away many plants, which otherwise could not be done it' 
the pipes were there. There are scores of kinds of hot 
water boilers in use, and our opinion is repeatedly asked 
as to the relative merits of many of them. This can only 
be determined by a comparative test, which we have 
never had time or inclination to try. We have used the 
boilers made by Hitchings & Co. for the past twenty 
years with the most satisfactory results. There may be 
better, but we do not know them, and do not care to take 
the risk of experimenting. 



CHAPTER XX. 
HEATING BY STEAM. 

Two years ago, to satisfy myself of the relative merits 
of hot water and steam heating for greenhouse purposes, 
I erected a Rose house twenty feet wide by 350 feet in 
length. This I heated by steam alongside of another 
Rose house of exactly the same dimensions, heated by hot 
water. These have given me an opportunity for a com- 
parative test and we find the result in favor of steam ; 



103 PRACTICAL FLOIUCULTL'ItE. 

first, that it saves twenty-five per cent, in fuel ; second, 
that our firemen say that the steam boilers require less 
labor, and, third, that the steam pipes by the use of valves 
are easier controlled than the hot water pipes. But, 
ahove all, is the certainty that, on a large scale at least, 
heating by steam must be cheaper than by hot water. 
Leaving out the question of the cost of boilers, which ought 
to be relatively the same for the amount of work to be 
done, we find that a one and one-quarter inch pipe, when 
heated by steam, does almost exactly the same amount of 
work as a four-inch hot water pipe ; at present prices the 
one and one-quarter inch steam pipe costs six cents per 
foot, while the four-inch hot water pipe costs twenty 
cents. Thus, the piping costs three times more for hot 
water than for steam, but so far there has been compara- 
tively little difference in estimates between the two, owing 
probably to the steam heating of greenhouses being yet 
in but few hands. From our experience with steam, I 
believe that whenever greenhouses are erected to the 
extent of 5,000 square feet of glass surface, steam should 
be used in preference to hot water ; if for smaller areas, it 
may be that hot water would be best. As far as the 
health of plants is concerned, there is nothing to choose; 
for although a steam pipe at low pressure radiates at from 
212 and over, and a hot water pipe at about an average of 
170 degrees, yet at six inches from either pipe the tem- 
perature is almost identical, radiation is so rapid. Any 
one doubting this can easily test it by the thermometer. 



BASE-BURNING WATER-HEATEK. 



103 



CHAPTER XXI. 

BASE-BURNING WATER-HEATER. 

For many years a great want has been felt for a better 
means of heating greenhouses, or rather conservatories, 
attached to dwellings. The space to be heated is usually 




Fig. 26.— BASE-BURNEB. Fig. 27.— SECTION. 

so small that the ordinary hot water boilers in use for 
large greenhouses have been found by amateurs too compli- 
cated, and to require too much attention. Then, when 
the common smoke-flue was tried, corresponding difficul- 
ties arose, it requiring nearly the same attention as the 



104 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



more expensive boiler. Occasionally these conservatories 
are heated by registers from the furnace heater, just as 
are the ordinary rooms of the dwelling ; but I have rarely 
seen any so heated wherein the plants looked well, it being 
difficult, to get the registers so placed as to diffuse the heat 
evenly. A new base-burning water-heater has been in- 

UU 



m\ 




Tig. S3.— SECTION OF HOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 

vented by Hitchings & Co., the well known greenhouse- 
heating firm. There is nothing new in the principle — 
nothing to patent, I believe. It is simply making the 
ordinary base-burning stove to so heat water that it will 
circulate in iron pipes and warm a small greenhouse or 
conservatory attached to a dwelling or otherwise, exactly 



BASE-BURNING WATER-HEATERS. 105 

as do our large boilei*s, which are not usually made on 
the base-burning principle. The patterns they have thus 
Ear made (shown in figure 26 and in section in figure 27) 
are forty-two inches high and twenty-one inches at base, 
and are powerful enough to heat a greenhouse ten feet 
wide by twenty-five feet long, or about 500 square feet of 
glass surface, taking into account the front and ends. 
The complete cost of heating, including boiler, pipes and 
fitting up, will range from $150 to $200. The care nec- 
essary in the management of this base-burning water- 
heater is exactly the same as that required for an ordi- 
nary base-burning stove ; and it may be safely left for 
twelve hours without attention, and will keep up a tem- 
perature in the house of from fifty to sixty degrees at 
night, which is about what is required for a general col- 
lection of plants. Figure 28 shows the boiler placed 
alougside the kitchen range, being in a basement and one 
story low T er than the conservatory. It can either be used 
in this way, or placed in the conservatory itself if sc 
desired. It must be borne in mind, though, in construct 
ing a conservatory, that it must be placed where connec- 
tion can be made with a chimney, as of course an outlet 
must be had for smoke exactly as in any ordinary room 
where a stove of any kind is used. When dwelling-houses 
are heated by steam it is an easy matter to heat a green- 
house that is attached to a dwelling, as, of course, steam 
pipes can be run at any level above the boiler. Green- 
houses, if need be, can be heated from the steam boiler 
in the dwelling, even if hundreds of feet distant, always 
keeping in view the point that, if extra work is to be done 
by the boiler, it must have sufficient power. 



106 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

CHAPTER XXII. 
PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY SEEDS. 

The most natural way of increasing plants is by seeds, 
and, whenever practicable, it is preferable to all others. 
In our own practice we rarely increase a plant in any 
other way, if we can procure the seed, unless, of course, 
with particular varieties that we know will not reproduce 
themselves from seed, and perpetuate the desired color, 
form, or markings. It is believed that no plaut ever 
produces identically the same individual from seed. The 
resemblance may be so close that, to casual observation, 
it may seem identical ; but reasoning from analogy, it is 
fair to presume that no generated organisms of animal or 
vegetable life, whether from the lowest molecule to the 
highest type of existence, are ever identical. No two 
human beings are ever identical in face or form ; and 
even acquired habits, such as handwriting, are never the 
same. 

Some species of animal and vegetable life, when under 
domestication, become what is technically called "bro- 
ken." Thus we find the pigeon, when domesticated, run- 
ning into a great variety of plumage, while its proto- 
types of the woods seem to be all alike ; but it is fair to 
presume they each possess a distinct individuality, though 
less apparent than the others. 80 it is in plant life. 
When we sow 1,000 seeds of Verbena or Coleus, to 
the experienced eye no two of the seedlings are ever 
exactly the same, though the original types from which 
they sprung will seem to produce varieties identical ; 
but in this case also it is reasonable to presume that 
a distinct individuality is present, though the distinction 
is so slight that ordinary observation fails to mark it. 
The eye requires to be educated to nice distinctions of 



PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY SEEDS. 107 

individuality. Shepherds in charge of five hundred sheep 
can often individualize every member of the flock, which 
to the inexperienced observer seem all alike. The reader 
will excuse this digression ; but there is a great deal of 
misconception on this interesting subject. 

In all cases where seed taken from a variety or species 
will reproduce itself nearly the same, as in special colors 
of Hollyhocks, or, in cases where a general variety is 
wanted, as in Verbenas, Petunias or Geraniums, the pro- 
pagation by seed is largely practised. 

Experience only can give the necessary knowledge for 
the full understanding of the proper temperature and 
humidity essential for the successful germination of the 
seeds of different plants. It may be laid down as a safe 
rule, however, that for the hardier varieties, a low or 
medium temperature is required, say from forty-live to 
sixty degrees, and for the tender species, a temperature 
from seventy-five to ninety degrees. 

If Pansy seed is sown in July or August, where the 
temperature in the shade averages eighty degrees, no 
matter how moist the soil is kept, if germination takes 
place at all it will be of so feeble a kind that the seed- 
lings will not continue a healthy existence ; but if the 
same seed were sown in September or October, with an 
average temperature of, say sixty degrees in the shade, a 
quick and healthy germination Avould be the result. The 
same rule applies to Cinerarias, Calceolarias, Auriculas, 
Primulas, and all other plants of this half-hardy nature. 
English, Scotch, and Irish gardeners, before they have 
had time for experience in this country, are apt to fall 
into the common error of sowing all these seeds too soon. 
Though it is proper to sow these seeds in July and 
August in England, with us, in this section, it must be 
delayed until September or October, and in warm lati- 
tudes still later, or failure is almost certain to follow. In 
our own practice we prefer to sow all such seeds in March, 



108 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

April or May, and by cramping the plants in shallow 
boxes and rather poor soil, we can hold them so that they 
are none too large for winter work. On the other hand, 
if we attempt to germinate Portnlacas, Balsams, Ama- 
ranths, Zinnias, or other plants of tropical origin, in the 
medium temperature of fifty degrees, they will either re- 
main dormant until a higher temperature occurs, or 
perish. Ignorance of, or inattention to, these conditions 
is far oftener the cause of failure than want of vitality 
in seeds. 

Whether seeds are sown in the open border, in the 
window garden of the parlor, in the hot-bed, or green- 
hou'se, the same conditions should be observed, so far as 
practicable. In the open border there is not always a 
choice of soil, but if soil is to be prepared, let it be of a 
light nature ; leaf-mould from the woods, and well- 
pulverized muck from the swamps, or, better than either 
of these, the dust of cocoanut fibre, or of decayed, refuse 
hops, are excellent to sift on as a covering for seeds. We 
have employed these latter materials exclusively, as a 
covering for seeds of all kinds, for many years, with re- 
sults which have been vastly superior to those we had 
when we did not use them. 

It must be borne in mind that seeds do not so much 
neod a fertile soil at first, as they do one having the neces- 
sary mechanical condition ; this is found exactly in the 
light, moisture-retaining nature of hop-mould or cocoa- 
nut dust. We can give no better rule than the old one 
of covering seeds to about their own depth with mould, 
although something depends on the w r eight of the mate- 
rial with which they are covered. One-fourth of an inch 
in depth of hop-mould, or leaf-mould, would be no more 
than equivalent to half that depth of ordinary loam; 
hence the advantage in using it, as it gives the seed a 
moist, springy covering, through which the tiny germ 
can freely push. 



PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY SEEDS. 109 

We know it is a practice, very common with amateurs 
and many gardeners, when starting seeds in a hot-bed or 
greenhouse, to use flower-pots in this operation ; they are 
generally two-thirds filled with potsherds, overlaying 
which is an inch or two of soil, and on this the seed is 
sown. Any continuation of dry weather necessitates 
almost daily watering of the flower-pots ; this bakes or 
hnrdens the surface, while a day's inattention to them 
dries the soil while it is in this condition, so as to injure 
the vitality of the seeds ; hence very unsatisfactory re- 
sults too often follow this practice. 

For many years we have entirely discarded the use of 
earthen flower-pots or pans for the purpose of sowing 
seeds, and use shallow boxes instead. These we prepare 
by cutting the common-sized soap-box into three pieces, 
each one of a depth of about two inches. These boxes 
are filled with the prepared soil to the depth of one inch 
and one-half, which is gently and evenly pressed, so as 
to give an entirely level surface ; the seeds are then sown, 
and a light covering, from one-sixteenth to one-fourth 
of an inch thick, according to the size or strength of 
seed, is sifted over them, through a sieve having a mesh 
only one-tenth of an inch. The covering is gently 
pressed to prevent the air penetrating the loose soil and 
drying up the seeds ; watering, which it is well to avoid 
as much as possible, is thus rendered less necessary. Be 
careful, however, not to let them suffer for moisture, as 
in the weak condition of seedlings, most plants are quickly 
injured by neglect of this kind, and, even with all pos- 
sible care, we experience serious losses. Many varieties 
will " clamp off," as Ave term it, just as the first rough 
leaves are being formed ; this, however, is not the result 
of excessive moisture, as it occurs just as quickly in a 
dry temperature as in a moist one. It is evidently caused 
by the same insidious spiderweb-like substance that is 
known among gardeners as the "fungus of the cutting 



110 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

bench," and is probably one of the minute fungi of which 
we have so many representatives. The best preventive 
of this disease, as it is sometimes called, is, just as soon 
as the seedling plants can be handled, to take them from 
the seed-boxes, and prick them out in boxes of simi- 
lar mould, from one-half to two inches apart, accord- 
ing to the variety. This is a much better method than 
that of potting them off in flower-pots, as it not only 
saves time and room, but they always do better. In the 
flower-pots they are liable to be dried up, and the tender 
roots of the seedling plant quickly destroyed. 

We use these shallow boxes largely for pricking off cut- 
tings from our propagating benches, instead of potting 
them off, particularly such plants as are wanted for stock 
to be planted out in the open ground, as, after being 
rooted in the cutting bench and planted out in these 
shallow boxes, they can there remain, occupying less 
space, and in every respect growing as well as if in pots. 
Carnations and Roses we work largely in this way. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

PROPAGATION BY SEEDS.— WHAT VARIETIES COME 
TRUE FROM SEEDS ? 

An intelligent correspondent asks the question given 
above. He queries still farther and says: "An Apple 
seed produces an Apple tree, but a Baldwin Apple seed 
will not produce a Baldwin Apple tree. Wheat of any 
variety produces the same ; seed of a scarlet variety of 
Verbena will not always produce it3 like. Why this 
anomaly ?" r lhe " why" of the matter cannot be told, 
but a few general rules may be useful. Seeds of plants 



WHAT VAKIETIES COME TRUE FROM SEEDS ? Ill 

in the wild state, in their native habitats, almost invaria- 
bly produce a progeny nearly identical with the parent ; 
and many species, even after they have been subjected to 
long years of cultivation, seemingly never appear to 
change in the slightest degree. Other species under cul- 
tivation, quickly develop varieties greatly different from 
the original, and become what is technically termed 
" broken." Thus the original species of our well-known 
Verbena is indigenous to South America, having a com- 
paratively small scarlet flower. From this, and probably 
some other species hybridized with it, we have the gor- 
geous and varied coloring of the Verbenas of to-day. But it 
took many years to produce these, for we can well remem- 
ber that in our early gardening days there was no white, 
and the furor that took place in the floricultural world 
when Verbena teucrioides, the first white, appeared. It was 
far from being an attractive plant, but the color was novel, 
and single plants were sold by the florists of that time at 
a price that would now buy a hundred. The Verbena, 
then, is one genus of which the species have given us in- 
numerable varieties. The Chrysanthemum, Dahlia, 
Fuchsia, Geranium, Tulip, Hyacinth, Gladiolus, Pansy, 
Petunia, the Rose, and many others, are also familiar 
examples where the original species has "broken" from 
what may be termed its primary condition intoeverchang- 
ing variety. Thus changed, it is probable that their seeds 
will never produce two individual plants exactly alike. 
It is probable that all species of animals and veg- 
etables, under long years of domestication and culti- 
vation, would ultimately "break" from the original 
type, though we know that in some species this tendency 
is sooner developed than in others. It is not to be wondered 
at that amateur horticulturists, like my inquiring friend, 
are puzzled at what looks like inconsistency in nature — 
why she refuses to produce always again his Baldwin 
Apple, or his Rareripe Peach, his Striped Petunia, or his 



112 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

Double Carnation, yet gives him back, seemingly identical 
with the parent, his Corn or his "Wheat, his Tomato or his 
Cabbage, or in flowers his Mignonette or Alyssum. I say 
"seemingly," for it may be doubted if they are identical, 
only the variation is so slightly marked that it escapes 
notice. Many, whose experience in such matters should 
have taught them better, are always confounding plants 
raised from cuttings or slips with those raised from seeds, 
and cannot see why the plant raised from the slip or root 
of a White Dahlia, or the tree raised from the graft of a 
Baldwin Apple, should be always identical with the plant 
or tree from which they are taken, while the seeds taken 
from either would not produce the same. Any cutting 
from a root or a branch, whether rooted itself or engrafted 
on another stock (except in rare cases of sports), will be 
identical with that of the original form from which it is 
taken ; in fact, it is only a separated part of the same 
plant, while the plant raised from seed is a distinct indi- 
vidual. 

Very few not engaged in the cultivation of flowers as a 
business, know that many of the most beautiful ones 
used for decorating flower beds in summer, and hot-houses 
in winter, can be raised from seed. The price of seeds, 
as compared with plants, is very low ; a package of seeds 
costing twenty-five cents will usually raise as many plants 
as could be bought from the florists for $25. It is true 
that care and labor are necessary in starting them, but 
the pleasure derived from the operation alone well repays 
that, independently of economic considerations. April 
is the best month for sowing most of the seeds of tropi- 
cal plants, and it is best done where there is the conven- 
ience of a hot-bed or warm greenhouse. The hot-bed is 
made in the usual manner (Sec chapter on Hot-beds). 
The soil should be, if possible, of a light, sandy nature, 
mixed with at least one-third of leaf-mould from the woods; 
if the leaf mould is not procurable, pulverized muck, or 



WHAT VARIETIES COME TRUE FROM SEEDS? 113 

stable manure rotted to the condition of mould, will do 
nearly as well. This is spread over the manure to the 
depth of about six inches. The sashes of the hot-bed 
should tit close, and there should be some material ready 
for covering the sash at night — either straw mats or shut- 
ters. We ourselves use shutters made out of one-half- 
inch stuff, and exactly the size of the sash. All these prep- 
arations being made, insert a thermometer into the soil 
covering the hot-bed, and when it indicates a declining 
temperature of seventy-five degrees the seeds may be 
sown. Most of the flower seeds may be sown in a hot- 
bed just as we sow Egg-plants or Tomatoes, which is best 
done for private use by sowing in rows from a quarter of 
an inch to an inch in depth, according to the size of the 
seed, the distance between the rows being two or three 
inches. Let me here repeat a caution that I have often 
given in connection with seed sowing: Be sure that the 
soil used for covering the seed is light (See Chapter 
XXII on Propagation by Seed for full details). One- 
half of the loss in seeds is in consequence of their being 
covered with a heavy, clayey soil. The power of different 
plants to penetrate through the soil varies greatly. Thus, 
while the seeds of the Tomato germinate in almost any soil, 
the Egg-plant — a vegetable of the same family — requires 
the utmost care. As soon as the seedling plants have grown 
so as to attain the first true leaves — that is, the first leaves 
that show after the seed-leaves — they must be replanted 
carefully in soft, light soil, at from one to three inches 
apart, according to the kind. This will not only prevent 
them from damping off, as many of them are very apt to 
do, but they will be much stronger and suffer less when 
re-planted in the open ground. We prefer to re-plant 
the seedlings in the shallow boxes already described. 
They are more portable thus than if planted again in the 
soil of the hot-bed, though, of course, after planting in 
the boxes, these are put again into the hot-bed. After the 



114 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

seedlings have been planted in these boxes, lightly water 
them and shade for two or three days. As the season ad- 
vances attend to ventilation, watering and covering up 
at night. 

Those who have not the convenience of a hot-bed may 
sow the flower seeds in the shallow boxes above men- 
tioned, and place them in the window of a south or east 
room, where the thermometer does not average less than 
seventy degrees. Success would be more complete, how- 
ever, if panes of glass were placed over the seeds, resting 
on the edges of the box an inch or so above the soil. This 
would prevent evaporation and render watering, which 
has the effect of caking the surface of the soil and pre- 
venting germination, less necessary. The protecting cloth, 
already described, may be used for any purpose for which 
glass can be used in covering seeds after May 1. 

We name in the following list, the varieties of flowers 
most suitable to grow from seeds : 

(anna Indira, or Indian Shot, grown mainly for the 
beauty of its foliage. Sown in hot-bed in April, and 
planted out in the open ground in June, will by August 
attain a height of six or eight feet. In addition to the 
rich, tropical-looking foliage, the flowers of some sorts 
are handsome ; colors : yellow, scarlet, orange, etc. A 
new dwarf variety has just been introduced, growing only 
a foot and a half in height, with flowers nearly as fine as 
those of the Gladiolus, and in far greater variety than 
the taller sorts. 

Antirrhinum, or Snap-Dragon. — A beautiful summer 
flowering plant, presenting a great diversity of coloring, 
is easily raised from seed in the hot-bed. The Antir- 
rhinums may be planted out in this latitude in May, and 
flower from middle of June throughout the summer. 

Cobaea scandens, — A climbing plant, which will attain, 
from sesdj a growth of twenty or thirty feet in one season. 



WHAT VARIETIES COME TRUE FROM SEEDS? 115 

The flowers are bell-shaped ; purple ; three inches in 
length by one inch and one-half in breadth. The seeds 
are thin and flat, and should be placed on edge when 
sown. 

Colens. — This famous ornamental-leaved plant is easily 
raised from seed, and breaks into endless varieties. It 
is exceedingly tender, however, and had better not be 
sown before May, nor planted out before June. 

Zonal Geraniums are, perhaps, the most valuable of 
all plants for summer blooming in our climate. They are 
easily raised from seed, and will well reward the labor 
by the endless variety produced. A few years ago the 
only colors of these were scarlet and pink. Now we have 
them in every shade, from white to crimson, with endless 
tints of scarlet and rose, double and single. The Zonal 
Geraniums may be lifted and potted in the fall, and if 
well pruned in when lifted, will bloom finely in winter. 

Lantana is another plant easily raised from seed; the 
flower resembles the Verbena somewhat, but has, besides 
many of the colors found in the Verbena, orange and 
yellow, which are not found in that flower. 

Lobelias. — Dwarf plants, well suited for hanging bas- 
kets, or for ribbon lining. The flowers range from white 
to blue. The blue of the Lobelia is often of the richest 
azure, unsurpassed by that of any other plant. 

Pansy. — Of all plants raised from seed by the florist, 
none is of greater importance than the Pansy; it has now 
such a diversity of color, and coming at a season in spring 
when flowers are yet scarce ; it is an ever welcome favorite. 
The usual plan is to sow the seeds in August or Septem- 
ber, so as to get plants large enough to keep over in cold 
frames through the winter, to bloom in March, April or 
May ; but many now sow part of their crop in January or 
February in the greenhouse or hot-bed, and though they 
come in flower later in spring, yet the younger plants are 



116 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

much better adapted for blooming through the entire 
summer months than those sown in autumn. When 
sown in August or September, we find it a good plan to 
shade the seed-bed by shutters made of laths or protect- 
ing cloth, or some such partial shading, for four or five 
hours during the day, while the sun is hot, but they 
should never be sown in, or kept in, exclusive shade. 
This is true of nearly all kinds of seeds. 

Petunias, being of rapid growth, will flower the first 
season, even if sown in the open ground, but usually not 
before July or August. If sown in the hot-bed or green- 
house in January, February or March, they "will bloom 
in April, May or June, and make larger and finer plants. 
If wanted for summer blooming, and not to sell when in 
flower, the seed should not be sown before the middle of 
April. 

Dianthus. — The Pinks are numerous and varied, many 
of them having a rich, clove-likc fragrance. They present 
an endless variety in color and style of flower. 

Salvia splendens, or Srarlet Sage. — Seeds of this sown 
in April will flower by July or August, and continue 
throughout the season. Thi.^, perhaps, is the most gor- 
geous plant of our gardens; single plants often attain a 
height of six feet, and nearly as much in diameter, hav- 
ing a hundred scarlet, plume-like, flower-spikes. The 
color is so intense when seen against a green background, 
that it is often visible at a distance of half a mile. 

Verbena. — This is yet one of the most popular plants 
of the day ; it is easily raised from seed, and no other 
plant that we know of will so well reward the trouble. The 
number of varieties now attained is something wonderful, 
even to us in the trade. Every year develops some new 
strain. Every color seemingly is obtained but yellow or 
orange ; these we never expect to have, as there seems to be 
a natural law of the floral kingdom that blue, yellow and 



"WHAT VARIETIES COME TRUE FROM SEEDS? 117 

scarlet arc never found in varieties of the same species. 
Thus we have in Dahlias and Roses, yellow and scarlet 
colors, but no blue ; just as we have in Verbenas blue and 
scarlet, but uo yellow. My readers will do well to remem- 
ber this, and be saved from investing in ''blue" Roses or 
Dahlias and "yellow" Verbenas, which are occasionally 
off ere J, knowing that the seller must either be ignorant 
of his trade or dishonest. 

Delphinium hybridum (Larkspur). — Hardy perennial 
herbaceous plants of the most dazzling shades of blue, 
from lightest azure to the deepest mazarine blue. Seeds 
sown in January or February, in heat, will flower the 
same season, but the best plan is to sow in September, and 
winter over in cold frames. They grow from four to ten 
feet in height. Blue is the rarest color among flowers, 
and therein Delphiniums are most useful, being hardy and 
perennial, and once established in the garden they grow 
without further trouble for years. 

Centaureas, Cinerarias and Golden Pyrcthrum. — 
These plants, with foliage which is used for white or 
yellow lines in ribbon planting, or in massing, are all 
better if raised from seeds than from cuttings. 

Asters are now raised in immense numbers for market. 
To get the best plants, they should not be sown sooner 
than the middle of March ; with careful handling at this 
time they will give fine blooming plants by the middle of 
June for later flowering. Sow for succession at inter- 
vals of twenty to thirty days. They can thus be had 
through the entire season from June to October. "When 
grown in pots, we find pots of five-inch to be the most 
convenient size. 

Ampelopsis, particularly the species introduced as A. 
Veitchii, but properly A. tricuspidata, is best raised from 
seed; seeds sown in December or January, potted off 
into two-inch pots and planted out into the open ground 



118 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

in May, if trained to strings or stakes, will attain a height 
of six to nine feet before October. There is now an im- 
mense demand for this grand climber, and so far the 
supply has been entirely inadequate. 

Balsams should not be sown sooner than May 1st. 
Sown at that time, they will make tine plants by the 
middle of June if to be sold in pots; if wanted for cut 
flowers, they should be sown in the open ground about 
June 1st. 

Carnation. — The monthly kinds of Carnation should 
be sown in winter or early spring, and if grown either 
in pots or planted in the open ground, will flower the 
first season by September or October. But the hardy 
garden Carnations, so much grown for cut flowers in 
summer, should not be sown before the middle of May, 
in the open ground, and should be planted in July, eight 
or ten inches apart, when they will cover the ground by 
fall, and will stand the winter in almost any section of 
the country where the thermometer does not fall below 
zero ; or in sections such as Canada, where the ground is 
covered by snow, they will stand a much lower tempera- 
ture. 

Cineraria, Calceolaria and Primula seeds, in our 
opinion, are best sown in March, April, or May ; we have 
practised sowing at this time for the past fifteen years, 
vvith great success. In England, the practice is to sow in 
July and August, and it is all right in their cooler cli- 
mate, but it is a very difficult matter to get seeds of any 
of these to vegetate freely in hot weather, and we prefer 
to start the seeds earlier and keep the plants through the 
summer, pricked off in shallow boxes. The seeds will 
vegetate freely in September and October, but it is then 
rather too late to get plants large enough. 

Besides the plants thus described in detail, as being 
suitable to raise from seeds in greenhouse or hot-bed, the 



WHAT VARIETIES COME TRUE FROM SEEDS. 



119 



following list (descriptions of which can be found in the 
Seed Catalogues), can all be raised from seeds, and make 
fine plants for sale by the selling season in May and June, 
or to produce earlier cut flowers than when sown in the 
open ground: 

Dianthus, 

Erythrhia, 

Euphorbia, 

Everlasting Flowers, 

Fems, 

Feverfew, 

Forget-Me-Not, 

Fuchsia, 

Gladiolus, 

Globe Amaranth, 

Gloxinia, 

Gnaphalium, 

Heliotrope, 

Helianthus, 

Helichrysum, 

Hollyhock, 

Humea, 

Ice Plant, 

Impatiens Sultana, 

Indian Shot, 

Ipomsea, 

Lantana, 

Larkspur, 

Lathyrus, 

Lavandula, 

Limnanthes, 

Lin um, 

Lobelia, 

Lophospermum, 

Lychnis, 

Marigold, 



Abutilon, 

Ageratum, 

Alonsoa, 

Alyssum, 

Amarant is, 

Anagallis, 

Antirrhinum, 

Aquilegia, 

Ardisia, 

Aristolochia, 

Aster, 

Auricula, 

Begonia, 

Bellis, 

Browallia, 

Calceolaria, 

Campanula, 

Canary Bird Flower, 

Canna, 

Castor Oil Bean, 

Celosia, 

Chrysanthemum, 

Clematis, 

Cockscomb, 

Coleus, 

Cowslip, 

Cuphea, 

Cyclamen, 

Dahlia, 

Datura, 

Delphinium, 



Maurandia, 

Mignonette, 

Mimosa, 

Mimulus, 

Musk, 

Myosotis, 

Myrsiphyllum, 

Petuuia, 

Phlox, perennial, 

Phlox Drummondii, 

Poppy, 

Portulaca, 

Primula, 

Pyrethrum, 

Rhodanthe, 

Ricinus, 

Senecio speciosus, 

Sensitive Plant, 

Smilax, 

Solanum, 

Stocks, 

Thunbergia, 

Torenia, 

Tritoma, 

Tropaeolum, 

Veronica, 

Vinea, 

Viola, 

Wallflower, 

Wigandia, 

Zinnia. 



120 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY CUTTINGS. 

Of all the operations of the florist, the one above all 
others in importance is the propagation of plants by cut- 
tings. It is the fount from which the supply must come, 
and becomes inexhaustible in the hands of a careful 
operator. I say a careful operator, rather than a skilful 
one, for, in my estimation, a great amount of knowledge 
is not so necessary to success, as that a never- flagging, 
careful application of that knowledge should be made. 
A careful man, who has had the run of a propagating 
establishment for one year, ami who has kept his eyes 
and ears open, will have acquired a theoretical and prac- 
tical knowledge of the business, sufficient to enable him 
to operate with success, provided he is of fair intelligence 
and studious habits. On the other hand, we find hun- 
dreds, who have spent the best part of their lives in the 
trade, whose careless character renders useless the knowl- 
edge possessed, when this branch of horticulture is placed 
in their charge, 

I have long held the opinion that the necessary knowl- 
edge to successfully propagate plants by cuttings is very 
simple, and may be easily imparted by writing, even to 
one having no acquaintance whatever with the operation. 

Propagating by cuttings is the way in which the larg- 
est number of plants are multiplied. As now under- 
stood, this is a simple matter. Formerly no operation in 
horticulture was more befogged by ignorant pretenders, 
who. in writing on, or speaking of the subject, so warped 
the operation with troublesome conditions as to discour- 
age, not only amateurs in horticulture, but inexperienced 
professional gardeners as well. 

One of the first conditions necessary in the propaga- 



PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY CUTTINGS. 121 

tion of plants by cuttings is, that the plant from which 
the cutting or slip is taken must be in vigorous health. 
If weak or tainted by insects or disease, failure is almost 
certain to be the result,. If, for example, we wish to root 
cuttings of greenhouse or bedding plants, such as l><m- 
vardias, Chrysanthemums, Fuchsias, Geraniums, Helio- 
tropes, Salvias, Verbenas, etc., one of the best guides to 
the proper condition is, when the cutting breaks or snaps 




Fig. 29. — PROPER AND IMPROPEK CONDITIONS OF CUTTING. 

clean off instead of bending or " kneeing." If it snaps off 
so as to break, then it is in condition to root freely; if it 
bends, it is too old, and though it will root, it will root 
much slower, and make a weaker plant than the slip that 
snaps off on being bent. With very few exceptions, and 



122 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



those of but little importance, cuttings of all kinds root 
freely from slips taken from the young wood, that is, the 
young growth, before it gets hardened, and when in the 
condition indicated by the " snapping test," as it is called. 
I believe I was the first to call attention to this valuable 
test of the condition of the cutting (snapping), in "Prac- 
tical Floriculture," first published in 1808. A very gen- 
eral idea is current that cuttings must be cut at or below 
an eye or joint. The practice of this method is not only 
rarely necessary, but it leads undoubtedly to many cases 
of failure; not that the cutting at or below a joint either 

hinders or assists the 
formation of roots, 
but from the fact 
that, when a slip is 
cut at a joint, the 
shoot often has be- 
come too hard at that 
point, while at half 
an inch higher up, or 
above the joint, the 
proper condition will 
be found. I know 
that it will root, even 
when in the too hard 
condition, but the 
roots emitted will be 
hard and slender, 
and, as a conse- 
quence, will not be 
likely to make a plant 
from the cutting in the 
proper state; besides, as the hard cutting takes a longer 
time to root, its chances of failing from unfavorable at- 
mospheric conditions are thus increased. 

Although we have said that cuttings can be as easily 




Fig. 30.— DAI1LIA CUTTING. 

of the same vigor as one made 



P IIOI'A (iATK) NT OF PLANTS BY CUTTIUGS. 



.123 



rooted without being cut at a joint as otherwise, yet there 
are, in some plants, other considerations that necessitate 
that they should never he cut except at a joint; for ex- 
ample, a Dahlia cutting will root quite as freely, make as 
tine a flowering plant in fall, and the tuberous root.- in- 
crease to the full size; but it will not be able to start 
again in spring, because the Dahlia pushes only from the 
crown of the root, and if the crown has not heen formed 
from a cutting made close 



'".? 
&J 



below a joint, as in figure 
30, it is worthless, as the 
tubers and crown formed 
without an eye possess no 
latent or dormant buds; 
hence the importance of 
always making Dahlia or 
Clematis cuttings by cut- 
ting immediately below an 
eye, if the roots are wanted 
for future use. Plants, 
such as some species of 
Bouvardias, Helianthus, 
Euphorbias, Gypsophila 
and Anemone, are best 
increased by cuttings of 
the roots, which are cut 
in pieces of an inch or so 
in length, placed flat to- 
gether on the propagating 
bench, pressed down and covered slightly with sand or 
light soil. Figure 31 shows a root cutting of Anemone 
Japonica. 

With these instructions for the proper state of the cut- 
ting, I now proceed to describe the medium wherein it is to 
be placed, and theconditions of temperature,moisture, etc. 
If these are strictly followed, failure is an impossibility ; 




Fig. 31.— ROOT CUTTING. 



124 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

for the laws governing the rooting of a slip are as certain 
as those governing the germination of a seed. In our 
own practice, when these conditions are strictly followed, 
failure is unknown, when the cutting or slip is in the 
proper condition of health. 

The best degree of temperature to root cuttings of the 
great majority of greenhouse and bedding plants is sixty- 
five degrees of bottom heat, indicated by a thermometer 
plunged in the sand of the bench, and an atmospheric 
temperature of fifteen degrees less. A range of ten 
degrees may be allowed, that is, five degrees lower or five 
degrees higher; but the nearer the heat of the sai,d can be 
kept to sixty-five degrees, and that of the rest of the 
house to fifty degrees, the more perfect the success will 
be. If a much higher temperature be maintained, it will 
be at the expense of the ultimate health of the plants. 
These temperatures refer to propagation under glass from 
November to April. Of course, when the outside tem- 
perature is higher these temperatures cannot be main- 
tained. 

Sand is the best medium in which to place cuttings ; 
color or texture is of no special importance. What we 
use is the ordinary sand used by builders; this is laid on 
the hot-bed or bench of the greenhouse, to the depth of 
about three inches and firmly packed down. When 
"bottom heat" is wanted, the flue or pipes under the 
bench of the greenhouse are boarded in, so that the heat 
strikes the bottom of the bench, thus raising the temper- 
ature of the sand. We prefer the bottom of the bench to 
be of slate, as it is a better conductor than boards; but 
in the absence of slate, boards will answer. 

From the time the cuttings are inserted in the sand 
until they are rooted, they should never be allowed to get 
dry; in fact, our practice is, to keep the sand soaked with 
water until the cutting is just on the point of emitting 
roots, the cutting bench being Avatered copiously every 



PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY CUTTINGS. 125 

morning, and often, when the atmosphere is dry, again 
in the evening, (when the greenhouse is artificially 
heated). Kept thus saturated, there is less chance of the 
cutting getting wilted, either by heat from the sun or 
from fire heat; for if a cutting once gets wilted, its juices 
are expended, and it becomes in the condition of a hard 
cutting, the condition in which, when bent, it will not snap 
nor break, which has already been described. To avoid 
this wilting or flagging of the cutting, every means that 
will suggest itself to the propagator is to be used. Our 
practice is to shade and ventilate in the propagating 
house or hot-bed just as soon in the forenoon as the action 
of the sun's rays on the glass raises the temperature of 
the house to sixty-five or seventy degrees. Of course, 
in hot weather the temperature cannot be thus lowered, 
and for this reason the propagation of plants is a difficult 
matter during the months of June, July and August, 
except with such plants as Coleus and others of tropical 
origin. In addition to the shading and watering, we 
always use in the late spring or summer months, a layer 
of paper over the cuttings (kept sprinkled four or five 
times a day), until within a few days of their rooting: 
this paper is used only on bright days, from ten to four 
o'clock. The same plan is followed after the cuttings 
are potted off, for four or five days, or until they begin to 
strike root into the soil. 

This practice of ventilating the propagating house or 
hot-bed is, I am aware, not in very common use, many 
contending that the place where the propagating is done 
should at all times be kept close. I have tried both 
methods long enough, and extensively enough, to satisfy 
myself beyond all question, that ventilating and propa- 
gating at a low temperature, are capable of producing a 
larger number of plants during the season than a high 
temperature and a close atmosphere. There need be no 
failures; and it has the imporant advantage of produc- 



126 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

ing a healthy stock, which the close or high temperature 
system would fail to do in the case of many plants. I have 
often heard propagators boasting of rooting cuttings in 
five days. I am well aware that this may be done, but I am 
also aware that it is often done in damp and cloudy 
weather at the risk of the whole crop, and it must be done 
at a high temperature, which at all times causes the 
plants to draw up slender, and thus impairs their vitality. 

FUNGUS OF THE CUTTING BENCH. 

Permitting a moderate circulation of air in the propa- 
gating house, tends to prevent the germination of that 
spider-web-like substance, which, for want of a better 
term, is known among gardeners as the "fungus of the 
cutting bench." Every one who has had any experience 
in propagating knows the baneful effects of this ; how 
that, in one night, it will often sweep off thousands of 
cuttings that a few hours before were in heathful vigor. 
But this dangerous enemy of the propagator requires, 
like vegetation of higher grades, conditions suitable to its 
development, which are a calm atmosphere, and a tem- 
perature above sixty degrees at night, or seventy degrees 
in day-time. Hence, to avoid this pest, we make every 
effort, by shading, airing and regulation of fire heat, to 
keep the atmosphere of the house so that it shall not ex- 
ceed fifty-five degrees at night, with ten degrees higher in 
day-time. This, of course, is not practicable when the 
outside temperature in the shade is above sixty degrees, 
but the temperature can be reduced considerably by dash- 
ing water on the pathways and other parts of the house. 
It is rarely, however, that the outside temperature ever 
exceeds sixty degrees at night for any length of time in 
the vicinity of New York before the middle of May, and 
all propagating had better be finished previous to that 
time, unless of tropical plants. In the fall months, about 
the middle of September, operations in propagating may 



PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY CUTTINGS. 127 

again begin. As an additional preventive against the 
ravages of the "fungus of the cutting bench/' we take 
the precaution to scrape off an inch of the sand, after 
taking out each batch of cuttings, and replace it with 
fresh sand, and, at least twice each season, we remove the 
sand that has been in use, wash the benches with hot 
lime wash and replace with fresh sand, thus, as far as 
possible, destroying the spores or germs of the fungus. 

The temperature is prevented from rising in the house 
in various ways, some using canvas, or bast matting, or 
syringing the glass with a mixture of naphtha and white 
lead, made about the color and consistency of thin skim 
milk. We find, however, the best and most convenient 
shading to be that formed by flexible screens made of 
common lath, planed and attached together like Vene- 
tian blinds, the laths being an inch or so apart. These 
can be quickly rolled or unrolled, and give an ever vary- 
ing modified shade, sufficiently cooling to the house, yet 
not darkening the cutting enough to impair its vigor. 
These are not unrolled in the morning until the temper- 
ature inside indicates it to be necessary (usually about 
nine o'clock), and are rolled up in the afternoon as soon 
as the sun ceases to shine on the glass, for it is of the 
utmost importance that the cutt.ngs receive as much 
light as they will bear Avithout becoming wilted. An ob- 
jection to these screens, however, is their expense, as they 
cost about ten cents per square foot. 

The time required by cuttings to root varies from eight 
to twenty days, according to the variety, condition of the 
cutting and the temperature. Verbenas, Fuchsias or 
Heliotropes, when in proper condition, and kept without 
ever being allowed to wilt, will root, in an average bottom 
heat of sixty-five degrees, in eight days, while Roses, 
Pelargoniums or Petunias will take at least double that 
time under the same conditions. 

It is best to pot off the cuttings, when rooted, at once, 



128 PEACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

no matter how small the roots may be ; half an inch is 
a much better length for them to be when potted than 
two inches, and the operation is much quicker performed 
when the roots are short, than when long. But the main 
evils of delaying the potting off of cuttings are, that when 
left too long, the cuttings grow up weak and spindling, 
the roots become hard, and do not take as quickly 
to the pot. Nearly the same care is required in shading 
and watering the cuttings after potting, as when they are 
in the cutting bench ; for no matter how carefully taken 
up, in the operation of potting, the delicate roots get 
more or less injured, and until the cuttings begin to emit 
new roots, they are nearly as liable to wilt as the unrooted 
cuttings. 

Cuttings should always be placed in small pots, the best 
size being from two to two and a half inches wide and 
deep ; if placed in larger pots, the soil dries out too slowly 
and the tender root, imbedded too long in a mass of wet 
soil, rots, and the plant dies. Though we generally pre- 
fer soil to be unsifted in potting large plants, yet for 
newly-potted cuttings it is better to be sifted fine, not 
only because it is more congenial thus to the young roots, 
but also that the operation of potting is quicker done with 
finely-sifted than with coarse soil. 

After potting, the cuttings are placed on benches cov- 
ered with an inch or so of sand, watered freely with a 
fine rose watering pot, and shaded for four or five days ; 
by that time they will have begun to root, when no fur- 
ther shading is necessary. 






"saucer system" of propagation. 129 

CHAPTER XXV. 
" SAUCER SYSTEM " OF PROPAGATION. 

The above methods of propagating by cuttings are such 
as are now practised by commercial florists who have all 
the needed appliances, but for florists beginning in a 
small way, or gardeners who have charge of private green- 
houses, there is usually no necessity for a propagating 
house, unless the requirements for plants are unusually 
large, as the " Saucer System " of propagation will answer 
every purpose, and it is the safest of all methods in inex- 
perienced hands. I was, I believe, the first to introduce 
this system some twenty years ago, and here repeat the 
directions first given in one of the horticultural journals 
at that time : Common saucers or plates are used to 
hold the sand in which the cuttings are placed. The 
sand is put in to the depth of an inch or so, and the cut- 
tings inserted in it close enough to touch each other. 
The sand is then watered until it becomes of the condition 
of mud, and placed on the shelf of the greenhouse, or on 
the window-sill of the sitting room or parlor, fully ex- 
posed to the sun, and never shaded. But one condition is 
essential to success : until the cuttings become rooted the 
sand must be continually saturated, and kej)t in the 
condition of mud ; if once allowed to dry up, exposed to 
the sun as they are, the cuttings will cpaickly wilt, and 
the whole operation will be defeated. 

The rules previously laid down for the proper condition 
of the cuttings are the same in this case, and those for 
the temperature nearly so ; although, by the saucer sys- 
tem, a high temperature can be maintained without in- 
jury, as the cuttings are in reality placed in water, and 
will not droop at the same temperature as if the sand 
were kept in the regular condition of moisture maintained 



130 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

in the propagating bench. Still, the detached slip, until 
rooted, will not endure a continuation of excessive heat, 
so that we advise, as we do in the regular method of 
propagating, that the attempt should not be made to root 
cuttings in this way, in this latitude, in the months of 
June, July and August, unless with plants of a tropical 
nature. When the cuttings are rooted, they should be 
potted in small pots, and treated carefully by shading 
and watering for a few days, as previously directed. All 
kinds of plants may be rooted by this method when the 
young green wood is used, whether of soft wooded plants, 
such as Fuchsias, Carnations, Geraniums, Heliotropes, 
etc., or of hard- wooded plants, such as Roses or Azaleas, 
provided that the same condition of cutting is adhered to 
as advised for the other methods. 

In many of the operations in floriculture, as in vegeta- 
ble gardening, success or failure depends upon their 
being done at the proper time, and though it may seem 
like a needless repetition, I cannot too strongly enforce 
upon the novice the importance of observing the dates 
that the experience of our best cultivators has shown to 
be best under our peculiar climate. Whoever in this 
matter follows the directions of an English work upon 
horticulture, will be sure to fall into difficulties, although 
its teachings may be exactly suited to the English climate. 
I would here refer to the evils arising from the too com- 
mon practice of many of our agricultural and horticul- 
tural journals, of selecting from English papers articles 
that often seriously mislead. For example, a Boston 
magazine a year or two ago copied a long article from the 
English "Journal of Horticulture," telling us in a very 
patronizing way how to propagate the Golden Tricolor- 
leaved Geraniums. The writer laid great stress on having 
a sharp knife and cutting the slip in a particular manner, 
then to insert it in silver sand, and a lot of other nonsense 
that any boy of six months' practice here would have 



PROPAGATING SOFT-WOODED PLANTS-. 131 

known was absurd ; but, above all, the operation was to 
be performer] in July ! He might have got the sharpest 
knife that was ever made, and the purest silver sand that 
ever lay on the seashore, but he would have most likely 
failed in our climate, if he attempted the work in July. 
This is only one of scores of such absurd selections as we 
see yearly in some of our horticultural journals. If the 
conductors of such have not original matter to fill up with, 
better far that they leave their pages blank than to show 
their utter kmorauce of what is suitable to our climate. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

PROPAGATING SOFT-WOODED PLANTS IN SUMMER. 

Every one who has attempted the propagation of plants 
by cuttings during the high temperature we have in the 
months of July and August, is aware of the great diffi- 
culty experienced in doing so, no matter what system or 
process is resorted to. In those months, plants of a suc- 
culent nature, such as Carnations, Geraniums, Petunias, 
etc., etc., grow rapidly, and the shoots formed are in 
consequence watery and soft, so that, when detached from 
the plant and used for propagation at that hot season of 
the year, when the thermometer will average seventy-five 
or eighty degrees in the shade, the chances are that few 
will root, but will, as gardeners term it, "damp off" in 
a few days after being put in as cuttings. In ordinary 
cases, with those having the means of propagating plants, 
this difficulty of rooting cuttings during the summer 
months is not of much importance, as florists usually re- 
serve stock enough to enable them to produce all the cut- 
tings they require at the proper season for propagating, 



132 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

namely : September, October and November. But with 
amateurs, who have but a plant or two of some favorite 
variety, and who wish to safely increase it, or to the flor- 
ist wishing to make the most of some valuable importa- 
tion, this practice, as yet little used, is likely to prove of 
some benefit, particularly with such plants as the Varie- 
gated-leaved Geraniums, like "Mrs. Pollock," " Happy 
Thought," ''Mountain of Snow," etc. Layering in the 
usual way, by bending them down to the ground, is, of 
course, in plants of that habit of growth, all but imprac- 
ticable. To take off cuttings would not only enfeeble the 
plants, but the prospect of rooting these cuttings in hot 
weather would be nearly hopeless ; so a compromise is 
made by a method which, for want of a better term, we 
call "layering in the air." The shoot is "tongued" in the 
manner of an ordinary layer. This has the effect to arrest 
the upward flow of the sap at the incision, which, of 
course, acting to some extent as if the shoot had been 
taken off, induces a branching out below the " layer," 
providing shoots for further operations. But the effect 
on the vigor of the plant is much better than if the layer 
or shoot had been detached ; for, by the time it takes to 
become hard and form a callus, the shoots branching out 
below the cut are fit to supply the loss of foliage sustained 
when the layer or cutting is detached. The cutting or 
"layer" is in condition to be cut off in five or six days 
from the time it has been tongued, and will be found to 
be not only healed up, or callused, and in such a condi- 
tion that it will quickly emit roots, but the whole cutting 
presents a well-ripened , firm condition, not easily de- 
scribed, but readily detected by the practical propagator. 
When detached, these should be treated in all respects as 
ordinary cuttings, duly watered and shaded for a few 
days until they strike out roots, when they are potted off 
in small pots in the usual manner. In wet summers we 
find that many of the plants of the Variegated Zonal Gera- 



PROPAOATING SOFT-WOODED PLANTS. 133 

niums and Variegated Rose Geraniums, operated on in this 
manner, produce roots half an inch in length as they hang 
in the air ; but this is of no special advantage, as we find 
that those layers that merely heal up and callus make 
just as fine plants as those that have formed roots before 
being cut off. 
Plants thus formed, make much finer plants than reg- 




Fig. 3.2. — CUTTINGS PAKTLT SEVERED. 

ular layers, as they are to all intents and purpose cuttings, 
and consequently, unlike layers, are not long dependent 
on the parent plant for support, being indebted little or 
nothing to the old plant during their development. By 
this system of propagation, we have often had the satis- 
faction of doubling our stock of many rare and valuable 



134 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

plants, which it would have been perfectly impracticable 
to do in the usual manner during the hot months. 

Another method of propagating plants in the hot 
months, which in principle is somewhat similar to that 
of the plan of " layering in the air," is as follows : 

Instead of tongning the shoot to be used for a cutting, 
as before, it was merely snapped short off, at a point 
where the condition of the shoot or slip would make it 
hang on to the plant by the merest shred of bark, as 
shown in figure 32. Slight as this strip of bark appears 
to be, it is sufficient to sustain the cutting, without any 
material injury from wilting, until it forms the "callus," 
or granulated condition, which usually preceetls the for- 
mation of roots. The cutting or slip may be detached 
in from eight to twelve days, after it has been broken in 
the manner described ; and then potted in two or three 
inch pots. If watered and shaded rather less than re- 
quired by ordinary cuttings, it will form roots in eight or 
twelve days more, and not one in a hundred will fail, 
even of plants of the Tricolor Geraniums, which we all 
know are difficult to root under the ordinary modes of 
propagation, particularly in hot weather. AVe recently 
propagated in this way nearly 10,000 plants of the Tri- 
color class, with a loss of but one per cent.; had we 
adopted the ordinary method, even Avith the plants in 
good condition, our experience has shown that a loss of 
at least ninety per cent, might have been expected. 

This plan is applicable to many other plants besides 
Geraniums. The following may be propagated with great 
certainty by this method, using the young unripened 
shoots : Abutilons, Begonias, Carnations, Heliotropes, 
Crotons, Cactus of all kinds, Lantanas, Oleanders, Petu- 
nias (double), Pelargoniums, or Geraniums of all sorts, 
Poinsettias, together with nearly all kinds of plants of a 
woody or suceuient character. Besides the absolute cer- 
tainty of having the cuttings root by this method, it has 



PROPAGATION OF ROSES BY CUTTINGS. 135 

another most important advantage : All propagators 
know that many kinds of plants when cut buck for cut- 
tings, become weakened so much that, if not carefully 
handled, they may die ; also if two or three crops of cut- 
tings are taken off as they grow, the cuttings are weakened 
and the " stock plant " becomes permanently injured. 
By this method of breaking the slip, so that it hangs by 
'a shred to the parent plant, the roots have to use their 
functions for its support nearly the same as if it remained 
entirely attached to the plant. This results, exactly as 
we wish, in causing the parent plant to strike out shoots 
below the broken slip, and these again, in their turn, can 
be so treated. I may say that, in certain conditions of 
the shoot, instead of snapping, it will "knee" or bend 
only ; in such cases, it will be necessary to slip it two- 
thirds through with a knife, but in most instances it will 
snap and hang by the shred of bark, which is the best 
condition. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
PROPAGATION OF ROSES BY CUTTINGS. 

As the propagation of Roses by cuttings is a matter of 
very wide-spread interest, I will give a special description 
of our method. The rule that applies to the proper con- 
dition of soft-wooded plants, such as Fuchsias, Helio- 
tropes or Verbenas (that is, that the young shoot should 
be in a state to snap or break off instead of bending), does 
not apply to the proper condition of Rose cuttings. The 
young shoot of the Rose is also what is to be used, but it 
must be hard and woody. For example, when a Rosebud 
is developed enough to be cut, the shoot on which it grows 
is in about the right condition for cuttings, each leaf of 
the shoot, with its bud at the axil, and two or three 



136 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

inches of stem, making a cutting ; that is what is called 
a single eye cutting. They are simply made by mak- 
ing one rather slanting cut between the joints, or about 
half an inch above the eye. About one-third of the leaf 
is cut off, mainly for the purpose of allowing more cut- 
tings to be put in the cutting bench. If by any acci- 
dent the leaf is taken off, the Rose cutting in this condi- 
tion will never root to make a good plant ; or if, from any 
cause, the leaves drop off while the cuttings are in pro- 
cess of rooting, not one in ten will ever make a satisfac- 
tory plant. Besides the method of using cuttings made 
from one eye or bud, the " blind wood," so called (that 
is, the shoots that do not produce flower buds), is also 
used, and generally makes the safest and best kind of cut- 
tings, as these blind shoots are hard and slender, and 
root rather quicker than cuttings made from siugle eyes. 
These shoots are usually too short-jointed to be made into 
single eye cuttings, and have often two or more eyes to 
the cutting ; but the foliage should be shortened off about 
one-third, as in the single eye cuttings. A good length 
for a Rose cutting is three inches, though in some short- 
jointed kinds no more than one inch in length of cutting 
can be obtained. 

There is no difficulty in propagating Roses from cut- 
tings of young wood, if it is grown under glass, any time 
from September to May (provided the plants are entirely 
vigorous and healthy; if affected with red spider, mildew 
or other disease, failure to root cuttings satisfactorily will 
be certain) ; during the months of June, July and August, 
it is a process requiring great care and attention. We, 
however, grow hundreds of thousands in this way by the 
following method : About the middle of May we plant 
out our "stock plants," so called, though they are young 
plants from three-inch pots (that have been rooted in the 
January previous) on the greenhouse benches, in three 
or four inches of rather poor soil, containing not a j)ar- 



PROPAGATION OF ROSES BY CUTTINGS. 137 

tide of manure, the object being to produce a hard and 
slender woody growth of cuttings, instead, of a soft and 
pithy one. Obtaining cuttings of this kind, there is no 
difficulty iu rooting them, if the proper attention to shad- 
ing and. watering, already described, has been given. I 
will state, however, that after they are potted off, carefully 
shading from the hot sun is necessary until the root strikes 
through to the side of the pot. I have found it to be a 
great help in propagating in summer, to sift a thin layer 
of fine moss, sawdust, or cocoanut fibre, over the Rose cut- 
tings after potting. This keeps them moist, acting as a 
mulch, and also, after they have rooted, it keeps them 
cool in hot weather, both materials being excellent non- 
conductors. 

It is a curious fact that, no matter how healthy Rose 
cuttings may be when growing in the open ground, they 
can rarely be got in condition, during the summer 
months, to root. I have tried them at all seasons and in 
all conditions, but do not think I ever made a success 
during the months of June, July, or August. They in- 
variably drop their leaves, and this means failure every 
time. Why they should do so more than those grown 
inside, I have never yet been able to discover, but that 
such are the facts, any one trying it will very quickly find 
out. My experience in this matter has been confined to 
the latitude of New York. I believe that in some sec- 
tions of the country, when the shoots become better 
ripened, they may be successfully propagated from out- 
door wood in the summer. 

Hybrid Perpetual, and even Monthly Roses, however, 
can be propagated from cuttings of well-ripened hard wood 
grown in the open ground, put in in October or Novem- 
ber in any place (a cold greenhouse or a cold frame), where 
they can be kept just above the freezing point at night — 
say from thirty-two to forty degrees, with ten to fifteen 
degrees more during the day. They must not get much 



138 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

frost, though a few degrees would do no harm, except to 
retard them; but artificial heat above forty degrees for 
any length of time to hard-wood cuttings is almost cer- 
tain to destroy them. I remember, some years ago, my 
foreman insisted that we should put in a lot of primings 
of several new Hybrid Perpetual Roses that we had re- 
ceived in December from Europe, in our regular propa- 
gating house. I told him it was useless, but he insisted 
on being allowed to try. I gave him the privilege, pro- 
vided he did the work in his own time at night. He worked 
most diligently, and got three or four of the hands to help 
him for a week at nights. He had some 20,000 cuttings 
in the propagating bench, where the temperature of the 
sand marked sixty-five degrees. The cuttings threw out 
shoots an inch in length, eallused beautifully, and up to 
that point, any one who had not gone through the thing 
before, Avould have said that the operation was a success. 
One morning, about ten days after putting them in, he 
called me to witness his victory ; but I astounded him by 
saying, that for every plant he made from the 20,000 cut- 
tings I would give him twenty-five cents. He watched 
and redoubled his care ; but it was no use. In less than 
a month every cutting had blackened and rotted. 

Had the temperature of the sand never exceeded forty 
degrees, a large proportion would have rooted ; but it 
would have taken three or four months to do so; and then 
the results are never so satisfactory as when cuttings are 
made from the green wood, taken from plants growing 
under glass. When, however, there is no greenhouse at 
hand, but only cold frames, such as are used for Cabbage, 
Lettuce, Pansy, or Daisy plants, the hard-wood cuttings 
of Roses placed in such in October, if not too much 
frozen, will be rooted by April. One of our market gar- 
deners here has followed the plan for twenty years. His 
cold frames, where he keeps his Cabbage plants, are well 
sheltered, and he roots thousands of Hybrid Perpetual 



PROPAGATION OF ROSES BY CUTTINGS. 139 

Rose cuttings by simply sticking them between the rows 
of Cabbage plants. He thus gets four or five hundred in 
a three by six sash without serious detriment to the Cab- 
bage plants, as the cuttings are leafless, and look like 
dried sticks until the Cabbage plants are taken out in 
spring. The cuttings then begin to leaf out, and are 
rooted sufficiently to put by the 1st of May. 

PROPAGATING ROSES IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. 

The method of propagating Roses at the South is very 
simple, particularly in the vicinity of Charleston, 8. C. , 
Savanna, Ga.,- or in almost any part of Florida. There, 
the long, heated summers raise the temperature of the 
sandy soil as high as that of the atmosphere at night in 
the winter months, if not higher, forming, in fact, a sort 
of natural hot-bed. All that is necessary to do in such a 
case is to make cuttings of Roses, either Monthly or Hy- 
brid Perpetual, in lengths of five or six inches, and make 
a trench deep enough to plant them, leaving only one or 
two eyes or buds above ground. Care must be taken to 
firm the cuttings well in with the foot, so as to exclude 
the air. The cuttings may be set in the trenches four to 
six inches apart, and two or three feet between the lines. 
Cuttings of Roses planted in this way, in these or similar 
localities, in November and December, will form roots by 
February or March ; and if left to grow where they were 
placed, without being disturbed, will have made growths 
of from one to five feet by the following September, ac- 
cording to the variety or class. The cuttings of Roses 
grown South are best got from the North. 

PROPAGATION BY LAYERING. 

Propagation by layering in the usual way, in the soil, 
is but little practised now-a-days, since the ways of root- 
ing plants by cuttings have been so greatly simplified ; 
but occasionally some one may want a few plants of a 



140 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

Rose or other shrub growing in the open ground who 
has not other ways of propagation at command, when 
this method may be safely adopted. 

Although layering may be done with the ripened wood 
of vines or shrubs of the growth of the previous season, 
yet it is preferable to use the shoot of the present year 
in its half-green state ; for example, a Rose or flowering 
shrub is pruned in the usual way in spring ; by June or 
July it will have made strong shoots, one, two or three 
feet in length from or near the base of the plant. Take 
the shoot then in the left hand (after having stripped it 
of its leaves for a few inches on each side of where it is 
to be cut), keep the fingers under the shoot, and make a 
clean cut on the upper part, an inch or so in length, and 
to about half the thickness of the shoot, then slightly 
twist the "tongue" or cut part to one side. Having 
opened a shallow trench, fasten the branch down with a 
hooked peg, and cover with earth. It is a good plan to 
place a flat stone over the buried part of the layer, to pre- 
vent the soil from drying out. 

This plan of cutting the shoot on the upper side, I have 
never seen in illustrations showing the manner of layer- 
ing, it being usually made either on the side or below ; but 
I have found in practice, that it is much the safest plan, 
as the " tongue," when cut on the top part of the shoot, 
has far less chance of being broken off. 

PROPAGATION BY LAYERING IN POTS. 

This is the process of layering shoots or runners of 
plants in pots, so that, when the root forms in the pot, 
the plant can be detached without injury to it, as the 
roots are confined exclusively to the soil in the pot. Lay- 
ering plants in pots can be done with Roses, vines or 
shrubs of any kind, with always more certainty of mak- 
ing a plant quicker than by the ordinary way of layering 
the shoot in the soil, because when lifted there is no dis- 



PROPAGATING P.OSES. 141 

turbance of the roots. This method of propagating 
Strawberries has been largely practised during the past 
ten years in the United States, and is now a favorite 
method. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

PROPAGATING ROSES BY GRAFTING AND BUDDING. 

This is the system almost entirely used in Europe, 
and although it has the disadvantage of necessitating 
watchfulness in removing the suckers that come from the 
stock, it is no doubt the quickest way that new varieties 
can be increased ; besides, in many weak-growing kinds, 
it imparts greater vigor to the plant. We have found it to 
be the only method of renewing the weakened vitality of 
kinds that have been injured by over propagation from cut- 
tings, or by continuous forcing for winter flowers, which 
is well known has so weakened many of the kiuds used 
for that purpose, that failures the past few years have in- 
creased largely. The main reason why the grafted plant 
imparts greater vigor is, that the operation, as usually 
performed, compels the stock to be rested for several 
months ; it is well known that, in the way Roses are 
usually propagated from cuttings, they are taken from 
plants that have had no rest. If Ave would attain the 
greatest vigor in a Rose plant, a proper amount of rest is 
imperatively demanded. The " Manetti " is the stock 
most generally preferred for grafting or budding roses. 
They are usually imported from England, costing $6 
to $7 per 1,000. When received in November, they 
are potted in three inch pots, kept free from fire heat, 
in cold houses or frames, or covered by leaves* in the 
open ground, until January, February, or March. The 
operacion of grafting is very simple, and is done by the 



142 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



method shown in the engravings, figure 33; it is the sim- 
ple " splice graft," or " whip graft." In our opinion, it 
makes no difference what form is used, provided that care 
is taken that a complete junction is made on at least one 
side ; if on both sides, all the better. After the graft 
has been placed on the stock, it is carefully tied up with 
Kaffia, so as to exclude the air and keep the graft in 
place. Some prefer to cover the tie with grafting- wax, 
but that is not indispensable. 

The temperature of the greenhouse or frame, m which 
the operation of grafting Hoses is done, may run from 
A 




Fig. 33.— GRAFTING THE ROSE. 

sixty to seventy degrees at night, with ten degrees higher 
during the day, but it is absolutely indispensable to sac- 
cess that the pots should be so plunged that a bottom 
heat of at least five degrees higher'than the air of the 
house can be given. This must be done, or there will 
not be complete success. This bottom heat can be se- 
cured either by the hot water pipes, or by the ordinary 
hot-bed, or by using a foot or so of hot manure. placed on 
the benches in the greenhouse ; we ourselves use the latter 
plan, enclosing the manure by sashes, so as to exclude the 
air until the grafts have "taken." That plants can be 



PLANTS MOST IN DEMAND IN SPRING. 143 

quicker made by grafting than by cuttings, there is no 
question. When the American Beauty Rose was first 
sent out in 1885, our propagations from cuttings made 
in August of that year, grown with all possible care, did. 
not attain half the size or vigor at a year old that grafts 
put on Manetti stocks in March, 1886, made in five 
months. In other words, the cutting plants required 
only an eight-inch pot in August, while the grafted plants 
required a ten-inch pot, being nearly twice the height and 
twice the breadth. 

Budding Roses is usually performed on stocks planted 
out in the open ground in July and August, or as late as 
the buds will take ; the bud is usually placed low enough 
on the stock, so that it can be earthed up to protect it in 
winter. Generally only the hardy or Hybrid Perpetual 
Roses are thus budded. It is practised to only a slight 
extent by some of our florists and nurserymen in the 
United States, as our climate is not so suitable for the 
work as that of England or France; besides, the low rates 
at which Roses are now sold in Europe, make the opera- 
tion of budding Roses in the open ground no longer 
profitable here, on account of our higher rates of labor. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

PLANTS MOST IN DEMAND IN MARKET IN SPRING. 

GROWN IN GREENHOUSES. 

These plants are grown in pots in greenhouses, and I 
will arrange them, as nearly as possible, in the order of 
their importance in the New York markets, which is 
perhaps, as good a criterion as can be fixed upon for the 
whole country. 

Roses. — These, comprising both Monthly and Hybrid 
Perpetual sorts, are usually sold in four, five or six inch 



14-1 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

pots, and when sold in open market must be in bud or 
bloom, as few market buyers know anything of Roses by 
name, hence the color must be shown. There are two 
methods of growing Roses for market purposes ; that yet 
most used by florists is, to plant the young Roses that 
have been propagated in spring, in the open ground in 
May, lifting when they have attained their growth in 
October or November, and placed in four, five or six 
inch pots, according to the size of the plants. The plants 
are then placed in cold pits, or cold greenhouses, where 
the temperature at night runs from thirty-five to forty- 
five degrees, with ten degrees higher in day-time, as for 
the best development of strong root-growth the temper- 
ature must be kept low. After the pots are filled with 
lieal thy white roots, which will be about the end of Feb- 
ruary or March, they may be given a temperature of ten 
degrees higher, but great care must be taken to avoid too 
high a temperature until they have formed roots, or the 
chances are if they do not die outright they will be so en- 
feebled as to be worthless. The Tea or Monthly Roses 
require a higher temperature than the Hybrid Perpetuals. 

The best monthly kinds for market are : Hermosa, 
Agrippina, Perle des Jardins, Sunset, Bennett, American 
Beauty, The Bride, Chas. Rivoli, Duchess de Brabant, 
Marie (xiiilott, Souvenir d'un Ami, and La Phoenix. 
These comprise all shades of color, are all free blooming, 
of easy growth. For full descriptions, see florists' cata- 
logues. 

Of the hardy Hybrid Perpetual class, the following arc 
•found to be the freest blooming, and having the greatest 
variety of color that can be had in a dozen sorts. Baroness 
Rothschild, Merveille de Lyon, Anna de Diesbach. Magna 
Oharta, Ball of Snow, Jacqueminot, Paul Neron, Auguste 
Mie, Marie Bauman, Madam Gabriel Luizet, Louis Van 
Houtte and Pseonia. For descriptions, sec catalogues. 

Of Climbing Rosea there are only some few desirable 



PLANTS MOST IN DEMAND IN STRING. 145 

'ones chat are hardy in this latitude, among which arc the 
Blush and Crimson Boursalt, Russell's Cottage, Prairie 
Queen and Baltimore Belle. 

Of the monthly varieties of Climbing Roses there is a 
greater variety of color, but none of these are sufficiently 
hardy to stand our winters north of Richmond, Ya. 
Among the best of the Climbing Monthly Roses arc : 
The New Waltham, Gloire de Dijon, James Sprunt, 
Marcschal Niel, ttctina, Lamarque, Madam Berrard and 
Cloth of Gold; these represent all colors. Descriptions 
will be found in the catalogues. Next in importance as a 
market plant, is the 

Zonal Geranium (Pelargotiium zonale). — Properly 
called, if we followed strict botanical correctness, "Pe- 
largonium.'" The true genus Geranium, being herba- 
ceous perennial plant-!, natives of nearly all parts of 
this country ; but common usage has dubbed the Zonale 
Pelargonium "Geranium," both here and in England, 
and it would only lead to confusion to use the true botan- 
ical name now. Of this, the grandest of all our summer 
flowering plants, or, for that matter, of winter flowering, 
there are now hundreds of varieties under name, both 
double, semi-double and single, running through all 
shades from pure white to pink, to scarlet, to crimson, 
in every gradation of shade. It is useless here to name 
varieties ; the catalogues teem with new and improved 
kinds each year, and we again refer the reader to these. 
In our own business, we find the sale for Geraniums in- 
creasing more rapidly than that of any other plant we 
grow, particularly for the semi-double kinds, which 
flower, many of them, (pule as freely as the single kinds, 
and have the merit of not dropping their petals when 
cut or when dashed with rain. From the cuttings made 
during winter, wc repot and harden off our "stock " plants 
in cold frames, so that wc can with safety plant them 



146 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

out in the open ground here the first week in May; this 
can be done in this latitude with perfect safety, provided 
the plants have been well hardened, as when thus hard- 
ened, even if the thermometer falls to the freezing point, 
which it sometimes does with us in the first week in 
May, they will not be injured. We generally plant them 
in beds, eighteen inches apart each way, so that they can 
be easily worked by the wheel hoe, and also to give them 
room enough to develop the shoots from which the cut- 
tings are to be taken in the fall. I find it best to take off 
the cuttings at different times, two or three weeks apait, 
to guard against accident. While the Geranium roots 
freely at certain seasons, when the conditions are all 
right, yet I have seen a batch of 10,000 cuttings nearly 
all fail. They were put in in September, when the 
plants Avere growing vigorously, and the shoots full of 
sap. The time to put in the cuttings should be chosen 
after a spell of dry weather, such as would harden 
and to some extent ripen the growth. Cuttings in this 
condition, put in in the usual way the first week in Octo- 
ber, will root freely in ten or twelve days, although cut- 
tings taken from the plant the first week in November 
will be still safer. There is an advantage in having 
them early, however, as each plant can be doubled or 
quadrupled by taking the tops from the plants as they 
grow. Geraniums are sold usually in four and five inch 
pots ; it is a great saving in weight to use as small a pot 
as it is possible in which to flower the plants, but 
such plants as Geraniums must have plenty of food, else 
they will not develop flowers freely. A good plan, when 
the pot is full of roots, and it is wished to dispense with 
a further shift into a larger pot, is to "top dress" the 
pot with a compost of six parts soil, six parts rotted 
manure and one part bone ; " top dressing" is the re- 
moval of an inch or so of the exhausted soil from the top 
of the pot and replacing with this mixture. AVe use this 



PLANTS MOST IN DEMAND IN SPRING. 147 

plan with Eoses and many other plants with excellent 
results. 

The Fancy Pelargoniums (Pelargonium grandijlorum), 
or " Lady Washington Geraniums," as they are called in 
most of the Eastern States, require in all respects nearly 
the same culture as the Zonal, except that they are best 
kept iu pots during summer when wanted for stock. 

Fuchsias, Heliotropes, Lan tanas and Petunias require 
a little higher temperature than Geraniums, but their 
general culture is very similar when grown during the 
winter for market ; but Astilbe (incorrectly Spircsa), 
Carnations, Dicentra, Feverfew, Hollyhocks, Pinks, and 
all other half-hardy plants, should be treated like Eoses — 
that is, kept in a low temperature, thirty-five or forty-five 
degrees at night in winter, until they have formed new 
roots. The use of Hollyhocks as market plants may be 
known to few of our readers, but the new Dwarf Holly- 
hock, "Crimson Pyramid," has proved excellent for that 
purpose in the New York markets, and if, as is likely to 
be the case, it comes to " break " into all the colors of the 
Hollyhock, we will here have a grand and showy feature 
in our market flowers. The seed of the Hollyhock, 
" Crimson Pyramid," if sown in August, will give plants 
strong enough to be suitable for five or six inch pots 
by November, when they should be kept in a cool green- 
house or frame until March, when, if started in heat of 
sixty degrees at night, they will flower abundantly by the 
middle or end of May. This Hollyhock grows to a 
height of twelve to fifteen inches, forming a well-defined 
pyramid, clothed from base to summit with rich, crim- 
son semi-double flowers. Although it can be propagated 
from cuttings, it is best grown from seeds, which it 
produces freely in July and August. 



148 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

THE CULTIVATION OF THE VERBENA. 

This would seem to require a special chapter. Compar- 
atively few florists have success in growing it, and as I 
have grown it successfully for upwards of thirty years, I 
have confidence, if the instructions here given are strictly 
followed, that it can be successfully grown anywhere and 
by any one. The principal trouble in growing the Ver- 
bena is, to prevent it from being attacked by the insect 
which produces the black rust, or Verbena disease, as it 
is sometimes called. I will make the starting point the 
first of April. At that date take cuttings from healthy 
plants ; see that they are taken in the condition described 
in the chapter on Propagation — that is, that they are in 
such a state that they will break on being bent. They will 
root fit to be potted off in eight or ten days, and will be 
fine, healthy plants to put in the open ground in thirty 
days after. Verbenas are not at all particular about soil, 
provided it is not water-soaked ; we have planted them 
on soils varying from almost pure sand to heavy clay, 
and, provided it was enriched by manure, there was but 
little difference in the growth or bloom. Planted out in 
May, by August they will have spread to an extent of 
three feet, the plants profusely covered with flowers and 
seed-pods. Now at this time, say the middle of August, 
this profuse flowering and seeding of course lessens the 
vitality of the plant and puts it in the condition to invite 
the attack of the insect which causes the rust. To sus- 
tain the vitality of the plant and recuperate its exhausted 
forces, we cut back the extremities of the shoots some six 
inches, in all plants from which we design to propagate, 
free the plants of decayed leaves, and thin out where too 
thick at the center. Then we fork up the soil around each 



TIIE CULTIVATION OF THE VEKBEISTA. 149 

plant, adding- a compost of equal parts of fresh soil and 
rotted manure to the deptli of two or three inches. 
Young shoots, as they develop, root into this with avid- 
ity, producing a soft and healthy growth, which, by the 
first or middle of October, gives us just the style of cut- 
ting we require. Now the process of propagation begins, 
which may be carried on either in the propagating house 
in the usual way, or by the saucer system, as before de- 
scribed ; but by whichever method the propagation is ef- 
fected, let me again mention the importance of taking 
the cutting in that succulent condition in which it will 
snap on being bent. 

Do not attempt to pot the old plant, or the layers of 
the Verbena, or even to take a shoot for a cutting which 
has formed a root in the ground ; for in most cases the 
roots so formed are so low down that the shoot is hard 
and woody at that point, and will not be likely to pro- 
duce such roots as will give a healchy growth. It is by 
starting wrong in the fall, and impairing the vitality of 
the plant and placing it in an enfeebled state, that disease 
is invited. 

In the directions given in the chapter on Propagation 
great importance is attached to the necessity of potting 
off cuttings immediately after being rooted. If this is 
necessary with any plant, it is especially so with the Ver- 
bena, as no plant is more susceptible of injury from allow- 
ing the roots to become elongated and hardened in the 
cutting bench. Cuttings thus neglected make hard, slim 
plants, which, even if they do escape the insect pest, are 
not likely to make thrifty plants. On potting the cut- 
tings, they are placed in a greenhouse or frame, and shaded 
in the usual way for two or three days, or as long as the 
condition of the weather may require. As soon as they 
have struck root in the soil of the pots, they should be kept 
cool, and abundantly supplied with air. 

Fire heat need only be given sufficient to keep them 



150 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

above forty-five degrees, and if a temperature can be sus- 
tained throughout the entire winter months averaging; 
fifty degrees, at night, and not to exceed fifteen degrees 
higher daring the day until the middle of March, there is 
no doubt whatever of having a healthy ard vigorous stock, 
providing proper attention has been given to watering 
and to fumigation by tobacco. 

Continued fumigation is of the utmost importance in 
the culture of all plants under glass, but it is perfectly 
indispensable to the welfare of the Verbena. In all our 
Verbena houses we fumigate, on an average, two or three 
times each week ; we do not wait to see the aphis or Green- 
fly, but apply the antidote solely as a preventive. No 
omission is so inexcusable as that of permitting plants to 
be injured by this insect. 

Although I have elsewhere stated (see chapter on In- 
sects) that the very minute one which produces the 
troublesome "black rust" on the Verbena seems invul- 
nerable to the fumes of tobacco smoke, yet I have a belief 
that our unremitting practice of fumigating may be, 
after all, the true reason of our comparative exemption 
from its attack ; for although this insect may have the 
faculty of imbedding itself in the leaf on the approach of 
danger, its eggs, being stationary and exposed,- may be 
destroyed by the action of the smoke ; at all events, we 
have repeatedly brought varieties of Verbena severely 
affected by the rust into our collection, which in a few 
weeks appeared entirely free from the disease, showing 
that our treatment, in some way or other, destroyed 
the enemy. 

There is no question that this insect, so fatal to the 
health of fche Verbena, is most active and destructive in 
a high temperature ; hence we find that whenever Ver- 
benas are kept in a mixed greenhouse collection, where 
Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, Heliotrope, etc., are grown (us- 
ually in night temperature of fifty-five or sixty degrees), 



PLANTS MOST SOLD IN MARKET IN SPRING. 151 

the Verbena becomes affected by black rust, showing that 
its minute enemy is at work sapping its life current. 

Verbenas, whether grown for sale or for private use, if 
wo would have plants in fine health and vigor in May, 
should not be propagated sooner than January. To be 
sure, the "stock" plants, to produce the cuttings, must 
be raised previous, in October or November, but such 
plants become exhausted by spring and are inferior to 
later propagations. The "stock " plants, from which we 
propagate, are usually thrown away by March 1st. 

In our own practice the necessities of our business re- 
quire us to put in an almost uniform number of cuttings 
every two weeks from November to April ; the last lot, 
which we pot off at the end of April, usually making the 
finest plants. For the raising of Verbenas from seed, see 
chapter on Propagation by Seeds. 



CHAPTER XXXI. ■ 
THE PLANTS MOST SOLD IN MARKET IN SPRING. 
GROWN IN COLD FRAMES. 

Pansies are the most important of the millions of 
plants raised in cold frames now sold each spring. For 
our manner of raising, see " Pansies " in chapter entitled 
" Propagation by Seeds." Also, for manner of com- 
structing " cold frames," see chapter under that head. 

Daisies are usually raised by setting out the stock 
plants in spring in some cool and partially shaded place, 
If they grow freely, each single plant set out in spring 
will divide to a dozen or more, ready to be set out in the 
cold frames in September or October. Very good varie-> 
ties can also be raised from seed, particularly the double 



152 PEACTICAL FLOKICULTUKE. 

white, by sowing seed in August and transplanting to 
cold frames in October. We ourselves raise tens of thou- 
sands in this way, as we have not suitable soil to keep the 
established kinds, that are propagated by division, alive 
through the hot summer. 

Cowslips, Primroses and Auriculas are beautiful spring 
plants, when kept over as are Pansies in cold frames. 
They are also increased by division, like the Daisy, but 
the process is slow and they are often, like the Daisy, 
difficult to keep through our hot and dry summers, but 
they can all be easily raised from seed, which should be 
sown about the same time in spring as we sow the Chin- 
ese Primula. See Chapter 22 on Propagation by Seeds. 

Myosotis (Forget-Me-i\ots). — When wintered over in 
cold frames, the Forget-me-nots bloom freely in early 
spring. They can easily be kept over the summer by 
planting in some cool, partially shaded place, and in- 
creased by dividing in fall, or they may be grown from 
seed, exactly as recommended for Cowslip or Primrose. 

In addition to the plants just named as being grown in 
cold frames, to bloom in early spring, the following half 
hardy plants that bloom later in the season can all best 
be raised from seed and grown in cold frames during 
winter : Aquilegia, Delphinium, Digitalis and Holly- 
hocks. Although these are all hardy in this latitude, we 
find that better plants can be had the first season from 
seed by protecting them in cold frames. The distance 
apart at which plants are set in cold frames must be gov- 
erned by the size and kinds ; we ourselves plant from 100 
to 200 in a three by six foot sash. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW DECORATION. 153 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

PLANTS MOST IN DEMAND FOR WINDOW DECORATION 
IN WINTER. 

For this purpose most kinds of plants should be grown 
in pots during the summer ; it is more troublesome to 
obtain good results by lifting plants in the fall that have 
been planted in the open ground, although such plants as 
Bouvardias, Carnations and Chrysanthemums, if lifted 
carefully and placed in pots in September or October, and 
shaded until they have taken root, will do quite as well 
as if they had been grown in pots during the summer, 
but Abutilons, Azaleas, Begonias, Cinerarias, Calceo- 
larias, Chinese Primulas, Callas, Crotons, Camellias, 
Daphnes, Dracenas, Fuchsias, Ferns, Geraniums, Genis- 
tas, Heliotropes,, Impatiens, Jessamines, Libonias, Palms, 
Salvias, Solanums, Tropseolums, and Roses, all of which 
are suitable as decorative plants for greenhouse, parlor, 
or sitting-room, in winter, had all better be grown in 
pots during the summer, shifted, of course, as their 
necessities require, into larger pots. On an average, six- 
inch pots would be sufficiently large to flower them in 
during winter, though strong growing species may be 
grown to a size requiring eight or nine inch pnts. All 
the plants named above, with the exception of Bouvar- 
dias, Begonias, Crotons, Dracenas, Ferns, Palms and 
Salvias, will do well in a temperature of fifty degrees at 
night, with ten to fifteen degrees higher in the day-time; 
those last named will require about ten degrees higher. 
Nearly all plants grown inside in winter, require great 
care in watering. Very little injury can be done to 
plants by being freely wateied when growing vigorously 
in bright weather from May to October, but in the dull, 
dark days from November to March, it is better to adopt 
the safe old rule never to water a plant unless the surface 



154 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

of the soil of the pot or bench indicates that it is dry by 
becoming lighter in color ; then water may be given 
freely, provided that there is sufficient drainage to allow 
it to pass off readily. Avoid manure water and all stimu- 
lants to plants in winter, until the days begin to lengthen 
and the sun gets to be brighter in February. 

The insects that attack plants used for winter dec- 
oration are, principally, the aphis, or Green -fly, the 
Bed-spider, and the Mealy-bug. The first is easily 
killed or warded off by the use of tobacco, either as 
smoke, dust, or steeped so as to form a liquid of the 
color of strong tea. The Red-spider is not so easily dis- 
lodged, and can only be kept under by continued spong- 
ing of the leaves, mainly on the under side, or by heavy 
syringing. The Mealy-bug is the most difficult of all 
insects to get rid of, but the use of Fir tree oil, diluted 
in the proportion of one pint of the oil to five gallons of 
water, if syringed on the plants once a week, will entirely 
suppress the Mealy-bug ; for small lots, dipping the plants 
into the mixture is the best way. We have found the 
use of Fir tree oil, diluted as above, an excellent means 
of keeping clown the ravages of all insect life by steadily 
syringing with it at least once each Aveek. For further 
instructions, see chapter on Insects. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

CULTURE OF WINTER FLOWERING PLANTS FOR CUT 
FLOWERS. 

Since the first edition of ''Practical Floriculture" was 
written, in 1868, the varieties of plants used for cut 
flowers in winter, as well as the methods of culture, have 
so changed that the instructions then given would be of 
but little use now. Camellia flowers that were then the 
most valued, are now almost entirely discarded. Tube- 



ROSE GROWING IN WINTER. 155 

roses that averaged $8 per 100 from November to June, 
are now hardly salable at any price in the vicinity of New 
York, Boston or Philadelphia. Hose buds have for the 
past ten years nearly supplanted all el.^e in the way 
of cut flowers, and still continue to do so, many hun- 
dreds of acres of greenhouses now being used for their 
culture. As Roses, then, are the most important of all 
flowers for this purpose, I will begin with their culture, 
following with the other plants used for cut flowers in 
winter, in the order of their present importance. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 
ROSE GROWING IN WINTER. 

To propagate the plants to produce Roses in winter, 
strong, healthy cuttings are put in to root at any time 
from September to February. We keep the sand in our 
cutting benches about sixty-five or seventy degrees Fahr., 
with the temperature of the house ten degrees less. Rose 
cuttings, under these conditions (if the cuttings have 
been taken from plants in vigorous growth, and are free 
from mildew and insects), will root in from twenty to 
twenty-five days, and are then potted in any good soil, 
in two and a half inch pots, and placed in a greenhouse 
having a night temperature of about fifty-five degrees, 
with ten to fifteen degrees more in the day-time. (See 
chapter on Propagation of Plants. ) 

The young Roses are regularly shifted into larger pots 
as soon as the "ball" gets filled with roots, great care 
being taken that the plants at no time get pot-bound. 
Syringing is done once a day to keep down red spider, 
and fumigating by burning tobacco stems to kill the aphis 
or Green-fly must be done twice a week. With such 



156 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

attention, plants which were put in as cuttings at the 
seasons named above, by the middle of June will be from 
one to one foot and a half in height, with roots enough 
to fill a six-inch pot. I may state that when shifted from 
a four-inch to a six-inch pot, two inches of drainage is 
used, so that when the roses are planted in the shallow 
benches, the "ball" of roots taken from the six-inch pot 
will be but four inches deep, or about the depth of the 
soil of the bench. They should at this date, or before, 
be placed out-of-doors, and stood on rough gravel or cin- 
ders, so as to make certain of free drainage. It is not 
the universal practice to put Eoses out in the open air ; 
in some sections, particularly in the vicinity of salt water, 
it is almost impossible to keep them clear of mildew when 
placed out of doors in summer, so that now some of our 
largest and most successful growers keep them all the 
time under glass, giving as much ventilation as possible. 
If intended to be grown in pots, the shifting into 
larger pots should be repeated whenever the ball gets 
filled with roots (which is usually in about four or live 
weeks after every shift), until the 1st of October, when 
they will have reached a size requiring a pot of eight or 
nine inches in diameter. These pots should be amply 
drained with broken pots or charcoal, using soil com- 
posed of three parts decomposed sod from a good loamy 
soil to one of well-rotted cow manure, or the soil here- 
after advised for benches will do equally well. They are 
then in condition for winter forcing, no further shifting 
being required. But if they are to be planted out on 
benches, or in solid beds of soil, the planting should be 
made from the pots from the 1st of June to the 15th of 
August, but the sooner the better. 

SOLID BEDS AND RAISED BENCHES. 

There is quite a difference of opinion as to whether 
Eoses can be best grown in solid beds or on raised 



ROSE GROWING IN WINTER. 157 

benches. We believe that it really makes but little 
difference, as we find them grown with nearly equal suc- 
cess by both methods where drainage is perfect, although 
the method mainly in use in the vicinity of New York 
(where Roses are at present better grown than in any 
other section of the country), is the raised bench system. 
There is no doubt, however, that the raised bench plan 
is much more expensive, as it is found (to have the best 
results), that the plants must be renewed each year ; that 
is, that the young plants that have been propagated in 
January and grown on in pots and planted out in June or 
July, to produce flowers during the fall, winter, and spring 
months, must be thrown away in May or June and new 
beds formed with fresh soil, replanted again as before with 
young plants, and so on each season ; occasionally crops are 
carried over for two or three years on the raised benches, 
but rarely with as good results. The small epiantity of soil 
gets exhausted, and, besides, there is a greater chance for 
injury from the rose bug the second season on raised 
benches, which, however, is not so much the case when 
planted in solid benches, as in that case the roots get 
stronger and deeper. It is my impression that even Tea 
Eoses will yet be mainly grown in solid benches. There 
are many instances of marked success by this plan. One 
of my near neighbors has had a fixed roof greenhouse 
eighteen by seventy feet, heated by a flue, planted over 
twenty years ago with Tea Roses, that is yet in the high- 
est condition of health and vigor, giving abundance of 
grand buds throughout the entire season. They were 
planted originally one foot apart, but have been cut out 
so that they stand three feet apart and are now bushes 
six feet high. No pruning is done except to shorten the 
shoots when they get against the glass, and to thin out 
the weak shoots. The most approved greenhouses used 
for Rose growing in winter are about twenty feet wide, 
and are what is known as three-opiarter span (see 



158 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



I™ 



HA ' .ISA^U. -Ajmiff 







ROSE GROWING IN WINTER. 



159 



Greenhouse Structures); that is, three-quarters of the 
glass roof slopes to the south at an angle of about thirty 
degrees, while the other quarter slopes north at an 
angle of twenty degrees, giving a base space for the 
benches on which the Roses are to be planted (taking out 
the walks), of about fifteen feet. The benches may be 
either a level platform, or divided into four or five plat- 
forms about three feet wide, or so as to be at about equal 
distances from the glass (see end section, Greenhouse 
Structures) ; the bottom of the benches may be from three, 
four, or five to six feet from the glass, as desired. 

Fig. 34 shows a perspective view of a Rose house put 
np for us on Jersey City Heights, N.J., in 1884, by 




Fig. 35.— CROSS-SECTION OF ROSE HOUSE. 

Lord & Burnham. ■ The length is 350 feet by 20 feet 
in width. It is believed to be as near what the best 
model of a Rose house should be as has been con- 
structed. The frame is of iron throughout ; the glass 
used is double-thick, second quality French, size twenty 
by twelve, put in the twelve way. The heating is done 
by steam, the eleven dots indicating the number of one 
and a quarter inch steam pipes (see cross-section figure 
35). Although eleven pipes are put in, not more than 
eight or nine of these are used, unless in extraordinarily 
severe weather, the others being shut off by valves. The 



160 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

two boilers used are Lord & Burnham's No. 5. The cost 
of a Kose house of this style, complete in everything, at 
present prices, is about twenty dollars per running foot, 
or $7,000 for the 350 feet ; if the frame had been con- 
structed of wood it would cost ten to fifteen per cent. less. 
There is no necessity for bottom heat for Roses, so 
that it is best to have the pipes for heating run under 
the front and back benches of the rose house, with none 
under the middle benches, as in this way the space under 
the middle benches may be utilized for other purposes. 

VENTILATION 

is an important matter. In a rose house twenty feet 
wide, sufficient ventilation will be obtained by having 
lifting sashes, to the width of thirty inches, placed along 
the whole of the roof on the south side, hinging them so 
that they will open at the ridge pole. For this purpose 
the patent ventilating apparatus should be used, which 
costs from fifty to sixty cents per running foot. 

SOIL AND BENCHES. 

The soil in which the Roses are to he grown should not 
exceed five inches in depth, the boards being so arranged 
as to allow free drainage for the water. Perhaps the best 
way to make the bottom of the bench is to use wall strips 
or other boards, not to exceed four inches wide, leaving a 
space of at least half an inch between the boards or strips, 
so as to make certain of perfect drainage. The hottom 
is first covered with thin sods, grass side down, or what 
in our opinion is better, the new packing material called 
" Excelsior," and then the soil is placed on to the depth of 
four inches. This soil is made from sods cut three or four 
inches thick from any good, loamy pasture land, well 
chopped up, and mixed with one-fourth of well-rotted 
cow dung to three-fourths of sods. In our own practice 
wc use, in addition to the cow manure, one-thirtieth part 



ROSE GROWING IN WINTER. 161 

of pure bone dust. It is perhaps best to let the sod be 
well rotted before it is used, although, if this be not con- 
venient, it will do fresh, if well chopped up. Of late 
years we have used the Acme harrow to break and mix 
up with the manure all soil used for Roses, at a saving of 
three-fourths of the labor. 

DISTANCE TO PLANT. 

The distance for Roses such as I describe (those that 
have been grown in six-inch pots, and averaging one foot 
high), should be one foot each way, so as to get the full 
benefit of a crop by January. It is true that, if planted 
twice that distance, they would be thick enough before 
spring; but they will not fill up sufficiently until the 
middle of January, if planted much wider than one foot, 
and it is always before that date that Roses are highest in 
price. The temperature at which Roses are grown in 
winter is an average of fifty-five degrees at night, with 
ten to fifteen degrees higher during the day. Conse- 
quently, if heated oy hot water, in this latitude, a house 
twenty feet wide will require eight runs of four-inch pipe 
to maintain that heat ; if sixteen feet wide, about six 
runs ; and if twelve feet wide, about four runs. If heated 
by steam, a one-and-a-half-inch pipe will be about equal 
to a four-inch hot-water pipe. 

WATERING AND MULCHING. 

Watering is a matter of the first importance, and re- 
quires some experience to know what is the proper con- 
dition. It is not often that Roses require to be watered. 
The heavy syringing necessary each forenoon in clear 
weather to keep down Red-spider is generally sufficient to 
keep them in the proper condition of moisture; of course, 
good judgment must be used to syringe heavier in warm, 
bright weather, when the plants are in vigorous growth, 
than in dull weather, or when the plants are not so vigor- 



162 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

ous. Better to err on the side of dryness, particularly 
from October to March. Whenever there are indications 
of the soil being - too wet, stop syringing, but keep the 
air of the house moist by watering the paths. The best 
growers now use very little mulching until the days begin 
to lengthen in February or March, the "food" given 
being usually a top dressing every three or four weeks, 
from October to February, of half an inch of compost, 
consisting of two parts of well-rooted cow dung, to one 
part fresh soil, to which is added about one-tenth part of 
pure bone dust. Frecjuent light stirring of the soil is of 
advantage to admit air to the roots and assist the evapor- 
ation of moisture from the soil. 

There is some difference of opinion as to the value of 
liquid manure in Eose forcing in winter. In our expe- 
rience, we have found that it had better not be used on 
Roses growing on the benches until about February 1st, 
when the days begin to lengthen and the sun becomes 
brighter. In the case of Hybrid Perpetual Roses grow- 
ing in pots, that have been started from dried off or rested 
plants about October 1st, which should come into bloom 
during December and January, it is well to water such 
plants once a week with liquid manure, so as to get the 
best development in color and size of buds. We prefer 
liquid manure from cow dung to all else. It is perfectly 
safe, no matter how strong it is made, and we think it is 
more lasting in its effects than liquid made from guano 
or similar fertilizers. Fumigating with tobacco smoke 
for the suppression of the aphis (Green-fly), should be 
done twice a week ; or, what will answer equally well, a 
mulch of two or three inches of tobacco stems spread on 
the walks or under the benches, will keep off the green 
fly by renewing it every five or six weeks. Rose growers 
practice this method now almost entirely, as it is quite as 
effective and safer than fumigating, as that less or more 
discolors the buds. 



ROSE GROWING IN WINTER. 163 

PRUNING 

Bat little pruning is done to Tea Roses until they 
begin to get too thick, towards spring; the "blind 
wood " should then be gradually and judiciously thinned 
out, care being taken not to cut too much off at once, as 
that would be certain to less or more check the vitality 
of the plants by gorging the rootlets with water, if too 
many shoots had been taken ; hence, after pruning, for 
a few days water sparingly. 

VARIETIES TO FORCE. 

The varieties grown are changing every season, and no 
list Ave can give to-day is likely to remain as the best, ten 
years hence. The favorite Tea Roses now grown for 
winter are Perle des Jardins (yellow), Sunset (orange), 
Papa Gontier (carmine), Niphetos (white), Catherine 
Mermet (rosy pink), Souvenir d'un Ami (delicate peach 
color), Cornelia Cook (white). Marshal Robert (pale yel- 
low), Madame Cusin (pink), Bon Silene (carmine), 
Bride (white), William Francis Bennett (crimson), and 
American Beauty (light crimson), The Puritan (white) — ■ 
these three last named are " Hybrid" Teas, but they are 
usually grown as Teas. 

Of climbing Roses, which are grown on the rafters of 
the greenhouse, Mareschal Niel (yellow), Lamarque 
(white), Gloire de Dijon (salmon rose), Red Gloire de 
Dijon (carmine), and the new Walt ham Climber (deep 
crimson), are the best. This last has not yet been largely 
tested, but in all probability it will supply a want long 
felt. It is a double Rose of fine form and of exquisite 
crimson color, equal in nearly all respects to onr finest 
Hybrid Perpetuals — all dark Roses that we have hitherto 
had in climbers being shy bloomers with inferior flowers. 



104 



PRACTrCAL FLORICULTURE. 




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ROSE GROWING IN WINTER. 165 

HYBRID PERPETUAL ROSES. 

To get the Hybrid Perpetual class early (say during 
December aud January), requires special skill and 
care, but it well repays the trouble, as this class of 
Koses now bring an average of $50 per hundred buds 
at wholesale from the 15th of December to January 
15th. The method found to be necessary is, to grow 
these Eoses in pots, exactly as is recommended for 
the evergreen or Tea Roses, except that, as they have a 
tendency to grow tall, the center should be pinched 
out of the leading shoots before they get a foot high, 
so that from five to six shoots run up, and thus not 
only make the plant bushy, but, what is of more import- 
ance, these slimmer shoots are less pithy and ripen off 
harder, thus insuring with more certainty a greater 
production of buds. The varieties of Hybrid Perpetuals 
best adapted for early freeing are : Anna de Diesbach 
(rich pink), Countess of Oxford (very large, soft, rosy 
carmine), Magna Charta (splendid bright pink), La 
France (rich peach color), Mad. Gabriel Luizet (light 
pink, splendid), Paul Neron (immense size, dark pink), 
Baroness Rothschild (rich shade of rose), Rosy Morn 
(cherry rose, large and full), Merveille de Lyon (pure 
white, other characteristics same as Barones: Rothschild), 
Anna Alexis (dark pink), General Jacqueminot (crim- 
son), Princess C. de Rohan (crimson, almost black), 
Dinsmore (crimson, scarlet), Marquis de Castellaine 
(brilliant, pinkish carmine), Pride of Waltham (peach 
color). 

The plants, if started from cuttings any time from 
September to January, the season in which we prefer 
to root them, will, if properly grown, by August 1st (or 
at less than one year old), have filled a seven or eight- 
inch pot with roots. Now is the critical point. The 
plants must be ripened off and rested, if a crop of buds 



166 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

is wanted by December, January or February ; so, to do 
this, at a season as early as the 1st of August, the plants 
must be gradually dried off sufficiently to make them drop 
their leaves, though not to wilt them so violently as to 
shrivel the shoots. A rest of two months is necessary, so 
that the plants, which we commenced to dry off by the 1st 
of August, may be started slowly by the 1st of October,and 
those begun to be dried off by the 1st of September may 
be started, also at as low a temperature as possible, by the 
1st of November. On first starting, give the dry balls a 
thorough soaking of water. If placed in sunken pits or 
greenhouses, where there is no fire heat, the one good 
watering will usually be enough until the buds swell, 
though the wood should be kept moist by syringing twice 
or thrice each day. These, like the Monthly Roses, are 
best ripened off by placing them in the open air ; though, 
if continued wet weather occur when they are thus 
placed to dry and ripen their wood, the pots must be 
placed on their sides, or some arrangement contrived to 
keep them from getting wet, otherwise the rest absolutely 
necessary for early forcing cannot be obtained. In our 
own practice we cover up the Roses every night while 
drying them off, either with sashes or sheeting, as one 
drenching rain during the period of drying off would 
defeat the whole work. The best kinds for early work are : 
Magna Charta, Anna de Diesiach, and Gen. Jacqueminot. 
When the forcing of Hybrid Perpetual Roses is success- 
ful, it is very profitable. And it is profitable because of the 
unusual care and skill that are required to have the plants 
in the proper condition. We may here state, that many 
failures have resulted from the attempt to grow the Hybrid 
Tea Roses without resting, notably the Duchess of Edin- 
burgh, which was sent out from England some five or six 
years ago as a " Crimson Tea." The misleading name of 
" Tea," induced hundreds of florists to attempt its growth 
under the same conditions as the Perle des Jardinsor Bon 



ROSE GROWING IN WINTER. 16? 

Silene class, and the consequence was in every case, almost 
complete failure. This type evidently partakes more of 
the Hybrid Perpetual than of the Tea class, and as they 
are hardy and deciduous, refuse to blossom in midwinter, 
unless given the rest that their nature demands. So far, 
however, the new Roses, William Francis Bennett and 
American Beaut} r , seem to prove an exception to this 
rule, as they do well under the same treatment as the old 
Teas. The past season we have found American Beauty 
to do excellently well, if dried off like the regular Hybrid, 
showing it to do well under both conditions. 

HYBRID PERPETUAL ROSES IN SOLID BEDS. 

Immense quantities of Roses of this class are now 
grown in solid beds. These beds require no special prep- 
aration where the soil is naturally good, and the natural 
drainage perfect, but where this is not the case, the same 
compost recommended for Tea Roses will answer, only 
using a greater depth, from nine to twelve inches, over a 
well-drained bottom. Hybrid Perpetual Roses, planted 
out in solid beds, cannot be had so early as when grown 
in pots, as, when thus grown, they cannot well be given 
the rest necessary for early forcing ; as a rule, in this 
district, they are rarely in market before February, and 
from then they are brought in, in succession crops, until 
the Roses from out doors in June come in. The distance 
at which they are planted is usually from fifteen to 
eighteen inches each way. 

MILDEW. 

Roses, when grown under glass, with proper attention 
to temperature and moisture, are not usually attacked by 
Mildew ; but as a preventive it is well to paint the hot- 
water pipes once every two or three weeks with a mixture 
of sulphur and lime or sulphur and guano, made of the 
consistency of whitewash (the guano or lime is merely to 



168 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

make the sulphur stick better to the pipes). We also 
use this mixture of sulphur on our steam pipes, but only 
on about one-sixth of the diameter ; if the whole pipe 
was covered as in the hot water pipe, the fumes would 
hurt the plants. The fumes of sulphur, as diffused by 
the heated pipes, is a never-failing means of destroying 
the germs of Mildew or any other fungoid growth, and 
also holds in check, to some extent, the Red-spider, an 
insect often so troublesome to the Rose. In the summer, 
or at such seasons of the year when no fire is used, it is 
well to dust the foliage lightly with sulphur once a week 
as a preventive of Mildew. 

THE ROSE-BUG OF THE GREENHOUSE. 

For the Rose-bug {Aramigus Fallerii), so detrimental to 
success in Rose growing under glass, there seems no sure 
remedy except the slow one of catching and killing the 
insect as soon as it is seen on the leaves. It is not easily 
observed, as it gets under the leaves and close to the 
shoots of the plants. Its presence is known by the bitten 
leaves showing where it is feeding. It will be understood 
that it is not the Rose-bug in its perfect state that does the 
injury. The bug deposits its eggs close to the root of the 
plant ; these quickly hatch into larva? or maggots, Avhich 
at once begin to feed on the roots of the Rose, destroying 
it completely. Many years ago we adopted the plan of 
paying our boys one cent apiece for the bugs which they 
caught at their dinner-hour, and by this method have 
completely kept them under, so that to see one now is a 
rarity. 

The only safety, when the Rose-bug is known to be 
present in sufficient numbers to injure, is to throw out 
the plants and start with young ones. I know, of course, 
that there are many rose houses that are even nine to 
ten years old, that never fail to produce abundant crops, 
particularly such as Mareschal ISTiel and other climbers ; 



KOSE GROWING IN WINTER. 



169 



but in such cases it seems to be that the Roses planted 
either had escaped the visitation of the Eose-bug alto- 
gether, or had got so deeply and strongly rooted before 
being attacked, that the grub could not injure the plants. 
Professor C. V. Riley, the Government Entomologist, 
who has given the habits of this insect careful study, 
says : "This habit of simulating death upon disturbance 
is common to many insects of this family. They feed 




Fig. 37. — ARAMIGUS FULLERI. 

a, larv?e ; b, pupa ; c, beetle, side view ; d, same, dorsal view, the out- 
line between showing natural size ; e, eggs, enlarged and natural size ; 
/, left maxilla of larva, with palpus ; g, under side of head; /*, upper 
side of 6ame, enlarged (after Riley). 

upon the leaves, but do more injury by severing them 
than by the amount of foliage consumed. The eggs are 
laid in flattened batches, consisting of several contiguous 
rows, and each batch containing from ten to sixty. The 
individual egg is smooth, yellow, ovoid, and about one mm. 
in length. The female shows a confirmed habit of secret- 
ing her eggs, which are thrust between the loose bark and 
the stem, especially at the base just above the ground." * 



* This is a different insect from the Rose-husr, so destructive to Roses 
and other plants in the open grounds, which is Maerodactylun sitbspinosvs. 



170 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

The larva of the May beetle, a large white grnb, with 
a dark-browa head, must not be confounded with the 
larva of the Rose-bug. This, too, is often destructive to 
Roses, but usually only on newly-planted beds. It acts 
by cutting the roots clean off, killing the plant outright. 
However, it is rarely so destructive as the Rose-bug, and 
not so much to be feared, as it is not propagated inside 
the house, the grubs being simply carried in with the soil. 
Care should therefore be taken to avoid all soil in which 
these large grubs are seen. 

SHADING THE HOUSE. 

There is some difference of opinion as to the propriety 
of shading rose houses during the hot summer months. 
I believe that a slight shading is beneficial from May 
to September, and for that purpose use naphtha, mixed 
with a little white lead, just enough to give it the appear- 
ance of thin milk. This is thrown on the outside of the 
glass with a syringe. It costs only about twenty-five 
cents for every thousand square feet. This shading is 
the best I have ever used. It is just enough to take the 
glare of the sunlight off, without much lessening the 
light ; and though it will hold on tenaciously during the 
summer, it is easily rubbed off in the fall after the first 
frost, when it has been lightly put on, but if thickly put 
on it is quite troublesome to get off. Another method 
is, to use common whitening mixed with water, put on 
with a brush on the glass inside the house. This plan 
has the advantage of the shading being much easier 
washed off than the other, although it is a little slower 
to put on. Of course it could be syringed on quickly, 
which would, however, spatter the foliage, making it 
look unsightly for a few days, but doing no injury. 

GARDEN" CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 

But little need be said on this branch of the subject, 
all that is wanted being a deep, rich soil, enriched with 



ROSE GROWING IX WINTER. 171 

cow manure or bone dust, in an unshaded position. For 
the dry climate of the United States, a class of Roses 
should be grown very different from those grown in Eng- 
land. There the " Remontants,'*' or "Hybrid Perpet- 
uals," in the humid atmosphere that prevails, with few 
exceptions, flower nearly as freely as the "Monthly" 
Roses do here ; but with us, experience has shown that, 
after the first bloom in June, no full crop of flowers is 
again obtained, unless with the comparatively new class 
known as the Hybrid Teas, of which La France (rose 
color), Duchess of Edinburgh (crimson), The Puritan 
(white), American Beauty (carmine), and the new variety 
introduced in 1887 known as Dinsmore (scarlet crimson), 
are types ; so that, when a continued bloom of Roses of 
all colors is desired during the entire summer and fall 
months, the class known as monthly (embracing Tea, 
Bourbon, Bengal, Noisette, and Hybrid Tea), are the 
best. True, these varieties, except the Hybrid Teas, 
are not usually hardy, unless in that portion of the 
country where the thermometer never gets twenty degrees 
below the freezing point ; but they can be saved through 
the winter in almost any section, if pegged down and 
covered up with five or six inches of leaves or rough 
litter. This covering, however, should not be done until 
quite hard frost comes ; in the locality of New York, 
about the first week in December. If done sooner, there 
is danger, if the season is mild (as it usually is here until 
December 1st), that the shoots may be smothered and 
rotted by a too early covering. This same rule we adopt 
in covering Grape-vines, Clematis, Raspberries, Straw- 
berries, or, in fact, any other plant or shrub that is 
believed to be benefited by winter protection, as I have 
never yet seen injury done to half-hardy plants by frost 
previous to that date. In this matter of covering, the 
inexperienced in gardening often errs ; first, from his 
anxiety to protect his plants before there is danger in 



172 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

the fall ; and next, in his enthusiasm in the spring, he 
is deceived by some warm clay in March to uncover plants 
which cannot be safely exposed until April. 

ROSEBUDS IN SUMMER. 

A good plan to obtain Rosebuds during the summer 
months is as follows : In August strong plants are set 
out in cold frames (such as are used for keeping Cabbages, 
Pansies, or other half-hardy plants), at a distance of one 
foot each way. On the approach of cold Aveather in 
November they are mulched with two or three inches of 
dry leaves, and by the time the thermometer begins to 
fall to ten or fifteen degrees below the freezing point, the 
sashes are put on, care being taken to give ventilation, so 
as to keep them cool. They thus become hardened 
enough to go safely through the winter, when covered 
with straw mats, so that they will be protectei from 
severe freezing. In sections of the country where the 
thermometer does not fall lower than ten above zero, 
there would be no need of the straw mats. By the 
middle of April, the sashes may be left entirely off, pro- 
vided care has been taken to keep them cool throughout 
the winter. Roses being thus " rested " (which is the 
great necessity for the best results in Rose culture), an 
abundant crop of buds may be expected from June to 
October, provided that proper attention has been given 
to watering and mulching with well-rotted stable manure, 
or moss and bone dust, in summer. This mulching 
should take the place of the dry leaves (which were 
placed on in the fall), about the latter end of May or first 
of June. 

The Roses to be used for summer buds must be all full, 
double flowers, else they will quickly fall to pieces in hot 
weather. Such kinds as Safrano, Bon Silene, Bennett, 
and Douglas, are of no use for this purpose. The kinds 
best suited are as follows : Perle des Jardins (yellow), 



ROSE GROWING IN WINTER. 173 

Cornelia Cook (white), La France (light rose), Coquette 
des Alpes (pure white), Madame Welch (blush), Duchess 
of Edinburgh (crimson), Malmaison (deep blush), Cath- 
erine Mermet (rosy pink), Letty Coles (carmine and 
blush), Devoniensis (deep blush), Sunset (the new orange 
saffron variety), Dinsmore (scarlet crimson), The Puritan 
(white), American Beauty (deep crimson), and Bride 
(pure white), all of which, under proper conditions, will 
give perfect flowers in the hottest weather. 

THE DISEASES AND INSECT PESTS AFFECTING ROSES 

Have been in part referred to in the Cultural Direc- 
tions. Mildew, the most common, quickly succumbs to 
sulphur, if applied as directed in chapter on Insects and 
Diseases Affecting Plants. The aphis, or Green-fly, 
should never appear, if preventive measures have been 
taken with tobacco, as directed in the same Chapter. 

But there are other pests encountered in Rose growing 
not so easily got rid of. The Red-spider, the insect so 
small as hardly to be seen by the naked eye, that works 
on the under side of the leaves, giving them a dry and 
reddish appearance, luxuriates in a dry, hot atmosphere, 
but persistent forcible syringing in the forenoon, when 
the sun is shining, will generally keep it down ; care 
should be taken, however, to thin out all weak, useless 
wood, so that the syringing can take effect on the leaves 
affected by the spider. 

For the remedy for the Rose-bug, see Chapter on 
Insects, etc. 

The Black Spot, so called for want of a better name, 
is a disease most injurious in its effects on roses, particu- 
larly the Hybrid Perpetual and Hybrid Tea classes. 
There is quite a difference of opinion about this disease 
of the Rose, some contending that it is altogether atmos- 
pheric, others that it is solely caused by the destruction of 
the working roots. Certain it is, that it is first caused 



174 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

by a sudden lowering of temperature, accompanied by a 
damp atmosphere, so that the injury to roots and leaves 
may be simultaneous in this case. But we also know that 
it occurs in hot and dry weather, where there has been no 
sudden change of temperature, which would indicate, in 
this case, that it was caused solely by the injury to the 
tender roots by long continued drouth. In any case, 
whatever be the cause, it is the only safe plan to avoid, as 
far as possible, extremes of temperature and moisture. 
In the summer of 1S86 we had about a thousand very 
fine plants of American Beauty Eose (one of the most 
liable to be attacked with Black Spot), growing in the 
open air in eight-inch pots — splendid plants, without 
speck or blemish. About the middle of July, half of 
the plants were taken into the rose house, where they 
kept in splendid condition all fall and winter, while the 
other half was left outside ; both lots looked equally 
well until near the end of August, when the lot left out- 
side began to show indications of the Black Spot, and 
although they were removed under cover of the green- 
house at once, they never recovered, and were almost a 
total loss. A lot of the Bennett Roses left out at the 
same time were also so affected by the Spot as to destroy 
them. The conclusion arrived at was that the lot left 
out in the open air had undergone some quick lowering 
of temperature sufficient to chill the leaves and roots of 
the plants. The remedy, then, is to get them under 
cover, where they can be controlled, in time to prevent 
such contingencies. 

There is still another disease, which, however, is less 
common than the Black Spot or Mildew, that affects Eoses 
when grown under glass ; it is called Club Root, Knot 
Eoot, or Wart Eoot. The indications that this trouble is 
at the roots are given by the young shoots of the Eoses 
getting light in color, and occasionally, if the roots are 
badly affected, the leaves assume an appearance of being 



BULBS FOR WINTER FLOWERS. 175 

burned or rusted, together with an unusual tendency in 
the plant to drop its leaves. There is, I think, no 
remedy for this root trouble. It is, I think, a conse- 
quence rather than a cause of disease — a consequence of 
lessened vitality in the plant, brought about by over 
propagation, or other debilitating causes. 



C HAPTER X XXV. 
BULBS FOR WINTER FLOWERS. 

Next in importance to Roses, come the various kinds 
of bulbs that are now forced during the winter and spring 
months for early flowers. Immense quantities are im- 
ported annually for this purpose, quite a number of florists 
about New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, use upwards 
of a hundred thousand bulbs annually, two or three in 
New York growing now upwards of half a million each 
year. With few exceptions, all these bulbs are imported ; 
they are of little use after being forced, and we find by 
experience, that (with the exception of Lilies), it is more 
profitable to import each year than to attempt to grow 
bulbs, that have been used for forcing, into good con- 
dition again. 

The bulbs used for forcing are : Roinan Hyacinths, 
Paper White Narcissus, Early Eoman Narcissus, Single 
Tulips, Lily of the Valley, Lilies and Daffodils, Freesia 
(Freesia refracta alba), Tuberoses and Callas. A few 
illustrations are given of the flowers of the different bulbs, 
to give our readers who are not familiar with them, 
some idea what they are. 

Roman Hyacinths, Narcissus, Daffodils and Tulips, 
are usually received by the middle or end of August, and 
they should at once be placed in the pots or boxes in which 



176 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



they are to be grown ; if to be grown in pots, six 
inches is a convenient size, in which place four to five, 
according to the size of the bulb. If to be grown in 
boxes, use such as are about three inches deep, the 
ordinary soap box is a convenient size. Use any good 
rich soil, such as is used for general potting, press down 




Fig. 38.— NARCISSUS, TRUMPET MAJOR. 

the bulbs (two or three inches apart) into the soil, so as 
to leave about one-fourth of their depth uncovered, or 
deep enough to steady them nicely in the soil, as of 
course the roots are only emitted from the bottom of the 
bulb. Now prepare a nice level spot in the open ground, 
taking care that you choose it where the water will pass 
freely from, then place the potted or boxed bulbs on this 
close together in beds four or five feet wide (for conven- 
ience), then cover them up at once with four or five inches 



BULBS FOR WINTER FLOWERS. 



177 



of rough manure, spent hops, well rotted leaves, or any- 
thing that will act best as a non-conductor, the object 
being to prevent them from drying up by the sun, and 
at the same time as cool as possible. As the season 
advances, this covering will not be enough to keep out the 
frost, so cover up further with manure or leaves, so as to 




Fig. 39.— POLYANTHUS NARCISSUS— PAPER WHITE. 

prevent them from freezing hard. On first placing the 
boxes or pots containing the bulbs give them a good water- 
ing, which will beall they will require, as the covering will 
keep them sufficiently moist afterwards. The bulbs put 
in by September 1st will, most of them, be well rooted 
by October 15th, at which time, some of the earliest, 
such as Paper White and Early Roman Narcissus, may 



178 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE, 



be placed in the forcing house, but they must be for- 
warded slowly; the temperature at night should not 
exceed sixty degrees ; this will bring in the crop of 
Narcissus early in December. 

Eoman Hyacinths had better not be started until a 
month later, as it is found, if avc attempt to flower 
them too early, the crop is always inferior. In most 
places the demand for cut flowers continues through the 




Fi£. 40. — DOUBLE NARCISSUS INCOMPARABLE. 

winter and into spring, hence the bulbs are brought in 
from out-doors and forced as wanted. The temperature 
at night should range from sixty to sixty-five. 

It is imperative for the success of either Hyacinths, 
Tulips, or Narcissus, that they be well rooted in the 
boxes or pots before being brought into heat, if they are 
insufficiently rooted, failure will result ; to be in proper 
condition to force, the pots or boxes should be matted 
around with the roots, 



BCLBS FOR WINTER FLOWERING. 179 

The best single varieties of Narcissus for forcing are : 
Paper White, Trumpet Major, Minor and N. poeticus. 
Of double : Incomparable, Roman, Von Sion (all yel- 
low). Of double whites, Alba Plena Odorata is the best. 

The single kinds of Tulips, mostly, are used for forcing. 
The following varieties may be recommended : Due Van 
Thol (red and yellow, scarlet, white, yellow, rose, pur- 
ple, and crimson), which are about all the colors needed, 
for the earliest forcing — that is in December. Below is 
a good selection for January forcing, after which time 
nearly all Holland Tulips may be forced with success : — 
For scarlet or red : Rembrandt, Artus, Vermillion Bril- 
liant, Roi Cramoise, and Fire-flame. For white : Potte- 
bakker, Princess Mary Ann, Queen Victoria, Snow- 
ball, White Swan, and Grand-master of Malta. For 
yellow : Canary-bird, Yellow Prince, Duke of Orange, 
Duchess of Austria and Lucretia. For rose or pink : 
Cottage Maid, Rosamundi, Rose Adeline, Proserpine, 
Bride of Haarlem and Everwyn. For red and yellow 
striped : Duchess de Parma, Kaiserkroon, Queen Emma, 
Samson, Ma plus Aimable. 

Daffodils require the same treatment as the above 
named Tulips, and should not be put in to force before 
the middle of January. Those kinds named below are 
the best : — Double : Incomparabilis (yellow and orange), 
Orange Phoenix (white and orange), Silver Phoenix 
(white, very double), Von Sion (yellow). Single : 
Trumpet Major (fine yellow), Trumpet Minor (yellow 
trumpet and white perianth), Princeps (creamy yellow, 
and large trumpet), Bulbocodium (yellow), Bulbocodium 
(white), Single Incomparable (yellow and white). 

Of Roman Hyacinths there are four kinds : — The 
Early White is that in general use, and the best. Next 
the Rose, or Red-skinned ; the color is a rich blush, 
and is now getting popular among florists. The Blue 
Roman is not desirable, unless as a variety ; and the 



130 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



Nantes White Spring Hyacinth, classed as a Roman, 
and used for late work, completes the list of varieties. 

Lily-of-the- Valley roots are not received until much later 
than the Holland bulbs, usually about the middle of Octo- 
ber. They are generally imported in separate pips, in 
bunches of twenty-five or fifty. When received the bunches 
should be placed close together in boxes, with a little fine 
soil sifted over them, placed like 
the bulbs, in the open air, and 
covered up in the same manner. 
Unlike Hyacinths, or Tulips, Lily- 
of-the-Valley will make no roots 
outside. The. object of placing 
them outside, is to rest them before 
forcing into flower, and the longer 
this rest, and the nearer it comes 
to its natural time of flowering, the 
bette: 1 is the crop. It is found that 
if attempted to be had as early as 
Christmas the results are often 
hardly half a crop. If wanted for 
Christmas, they should be placed 
in heat about December 1st, as it 
takes, on an average, at that sea- 
son, about three weeks to get 
them into flower. In placing the Lily-of-the-Valley to 
force, the best place is a greenhouse facing north ; or if 
that is not at hand, the ordinary greenhouse must be 
shaded in the part they are placed. They should be 
planted in benches or boxes of sand, deep enough to let the 
pips be one inch or so above the sand ; these are placed 
almost touching. Planting is best done by cutting trenches 
in the sand, deep enough to receive the roots, making the 
lines only an inch or so apart. Water the sand freely 
twice a day with tepid water, and keep the temperature 
of the sand at not less than ninety degrees at night. 




Fig. 41.— HYACINTH 
WHITE ROMAN. 



BULBS FOE WINTER FLOWERING. 



181 



To get this high "bottom heat" in the sand of the 
bench, it will require, if heated by hot water, three 
four-inch pipes under a bench three or four feet wide, 
" boxed in " so as to conline the heat ; if by steam, an 



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m 




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111 M 






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lis 


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Fig. 42.— lilt of The vallet. 

equivalent of steam pipes — say, three one and a half 
inch pipes. 

When the flowers begin to develop, withhold water 
overhead, as otherwise it will injure the flowers. Like 
all other plants used for winter forcing, Lily-of-the- 
Valley should be brought into the house in lots for succes- 
sion. It requires, when taken from the open ground to 
the forcing house from two to three weeks for a full 



182 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

development of the flowers, but by first bringing them 
into a cool shed or cellar, and sprinkling them enough 
to keep them moist, and keepiug in this position for a 
week, then placing them in heat, a saving of nearly half 
the time in bringing them into bloom will be made. 
This plan is but little known ; one of our best growers 
having found it out by accident a few years ago. He 
now practices it entirely, with the best results — saving 
five or six days in time in getting forward each batch. 
Lily-of-the- Valley flowers are now obtained every month 
in the year, by placing the roots, when they arrive, in 
"cold-storage" warehouses. Where the temperature is 
being kept just above the freezing point, the roots can be 
kept dormant for twelve months, if desired. In this dor- 
mant condition they are taken out of the cold storage, 
placed in the necessary heat, and forced into flower at 
pleasure. Many other kinds of Bulbs could be retarded 
in this way, only that in all other cases except the Lily- 
of-the- Valley, Bulbs so retarded would require to be 
placed outside to form young roots, in the manner 
already described, before they could be forced into flower, 
but in the case of the Lily-of-the- Valley roots, this is not 
necessary. 

Lilium Harrisi, or Bermuda Easter Lily, was intro- 
duced into general cultivation about 1878 ; there is some 
question whether it is a "sport" from the old Lilium 
longijiorum or Trumpet Lily, or whether long years of 
cultivation in the congenial climate of Bermuda has so 
changed the nature of the plant as to give it the wonder- 
ful free flowering properties it possesses. I am inclined 
to think the variety is distinct from L. longijiorum, for 
it is not only much more prolific in flowering, but the 
flowers are wider and the whole plant more robust, a re- 
sult not to be expected from any temporary cultivation in 
a climate, no matter how congenial. The rules for the 
cultivation of the Bermuda Easter Lily are almost iden- 



BULBS FOR WINTER FLOWEKING. 



183 




Fig. 43. — BERMUDA EASTER LILY. 



184: 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



tical with those in use for Roman Hyacinths and Tnlips 
already described, except that, after the boxes or pots are 
filled with roots, the time for the development of the 
flower is longer. The dry bulbs, however, usually can be 
procured as early as first week in August, and if potted 
or boxed up at that time and placed outside, will form 
roots, sufficient to allow them to be brought into the 




Fig. 44. — FREESIA EEFRACTA ALBA. 

greenhouse by the 1st of October, and if kept in a tem- 
perature of sixty degrees at night, with ten or fifteen 
degrees higher during the daytime, will give a crop of 
flowers by Christmas ; like all other bulbs, succession 
crops should be brought in to force. The Bermuda Easter 
Lily is largely used for decoration at Easter, and for that 
season, beginning to force in January will be soon enough. 
Lilium longiflorum and Lilium candidum require ex- 



BULBS FOR WINTER FLOWERING. 185 

actly the same treatment, except that neither of these 
can be made to flower so early as the Bermuda Lily. 

Freesia refracta alba is a more tender bulb and cannot 
be submitted to the open air treatment to form roots like 
the hardier bulbs. As the bulbs are small, tbey can be 
placed in shallow boxes (three inches deep), two or three 
inches apart, or in pots, using any good mellow soil. 
Place them in a cool greenhouse ; under the benches will 
do until they start to grow ; then place them in the light 
and treat exactly as advised for Hyacinths, etc. The 
flowers are pure white, and produced in great abundance. 

Calla (Ilichardia Ethiopica), or Lily of the Nile, is 
not usually grown or classed as a winter flowering bulb, 
but we have found that by using the dry, well-ripened 
roots, as grown in California, it is one of the most profit- 
able plants to force. These dry, well-ripened bulbs pro- 
duce an abundance of fine flowers and make but very few 
leaves, consequently by using such bulbs a great many 
more flowers can be had on the same space than when the 
foliage is kept on the plants as is usually done. 

TUBEROSES. 

Forcing the Tuberose, so as to have the flowers from 
January to March, is an exceedingly difficult operation, 
and is now but little attempted here, as present prices 
will not justify it. The plant being of tropical origin, 
to have it at all times in a growing state requires a high 
temperature — not less than an average of eighty degrees ; 
consequently, few ordinarily-heated greenhouses or pri- 
vate sitting-rooms are at a temperature high enough to 
insure the continued and uninterrupted growth necessary 
to the production of flowers in the dark winter months. 
It is, however, comparatively easy to force so as to pro- 
duce flowers during April, May, and June, and again, 
by retarding the bulbs, during November and December. 



186 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

By the first method, the bulbs are, about the 1st of Jan- 
uary, placed closely together in boxes three inches deep, 
having two inches or so of damp moss in the bottom. 
These boxes are placed in some warm spot, where the 
temperature will average seventy-five degrees. If for 
greenhouse culture, the best place is under the benches 
on the hot-water pipes. In about four or five weeks the 
Tuberoses will have rooted all through the moss, and 
they should then be potted in four or five-inch pots, or 
planted in a bench of soil four or five inches deep, and 
kept in a temperature at no time less than seventy-five 
degrees, and flowers will be had in abundance in April. 
For succession crops, place the dry bulbs in moss, at 
intervals of three or four weeks. The last crops will 
usually be the best, as by May and June the natural tem- 
perature will have increased, and less artificial heat will 
be required. 

If flowers are wanted during November and December, 
the retarding process alluded to is resorted to. This is 
done by selecting such bulbs as are wanted (care being 
taken to use only such as are sound and firm), and plac- 
ing them in some cool, dry place until the middle of 
August, when the first crop may be planted, either in 
pots or in a bench of the greenhouse, as described above 
for the spring crop. This planting will produce a crop 
by November. For the succession crop of December, 
planting must be delayed until the middle of Sej)tcmber, 
this being as late as the bulbs can be kept sound in the 
usual way ; but they may be retarded in refrigerators or 
in the cities in cold-storage vaults, as is done with 
Lily of the Valley, and in that way may be had all 
through the winter months, provided a high enough 
temperature, with plenty of light, can be given. The 
same high temperature is indispensable -as in the spring 
crop, namely, an average of seventy-five degrees. The 
variety best for forcing is the Pearl, which grows only 



BULBS FOR W1NTKU FLOWERING. 187 

about half the height, and has flowers nearly twice 
the diameter of the old sort ; but for planting in the 
open ground in the ordinary way, when the flowers are 
only wanted for fall, the common double variety is the 
best ; as, being less double, the flowers open better under 
the often unfavorably dry atmosphere that we have in Oc- 
tober. The Pearl Tuberose originated in this country in 




Fig. 45. — TUBEKOSE BULB WITH SETS. 

18G5, in the grounds of John Henderson, Flushing, L. I. 
I purchased the entire stock of Mr. Henderson in 1866, 
paying him $500 for a barrel of the roots. I sold it for 
the first time in 1867. It is now the favorite variety for 
forcing, both in this country and in Europe. 



188 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



Tuberoses are often forwarded, so as to be had in 
flower in the earlier fall months, in sections of the coun- 
try where the season is too short. This is done exactly 
in the way recommended for the spring forcing, by start- 
ing the bulbs in clamp moss ; but for this purpose the 





Fiff. 46.— SOUND BULB. 



Fig. 47.— BULB DECAYED AT CENTER. 



dry bulbs should not be placed in the moss until the 
middle of May. By the middle of June, when the weather 
has become warm, and they are set out, they will start to 
grow at once, and will in this way flower from three to 
four weeks earlier than if the dry bulb had been put in 
tJie open ground, cold as it is in the most of the Northern 



VIOLETS, CHRYSANTHEMUMS, ETC. 189 

States in May. Of course, it will be understood, that 
when the dry bulbs are placed in the moss to start, it 
must be in a greenhouse or in some place where the 
thermometer will average seventy-five or eighty degrees, 
or they will not start at all, or, at least, very feebly. It 
will thus be seen, from the foregoing remarks, that it 
will be utterly useless to attempt to grow Tuberoses at 
all seasons, unless in a tropical temperature, which at 
no time should be less than seventy-five degrees, and if 
it averages eighty degrees, all the better. 

One of the most important points in Tuberose culture 
is to have sound bulbs of sufficient size. Figure 45 
shows what size a good sound Tuberose should be. Figure 
46 shows how it should be when cut through. Figure 47 
shows the heart or center rotted, in which condition it is 
worthless to flower. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

VIOLETS, CHRYSANTHEMUMS, CARNATIONS AND 
MIGNONETTE. 

Violets are yet, and are likely to continue to be, one of 
the important winter flowers. The price for the past two 
years averaged higher than it has done in twenty years 
previous, owing to the fact that in nearly all sections of 
the country the A T iolet has been subject to a disease, a 
spotting and yellowing of the leaves, which has been 
completely destructive in a great majority of cases. The 
cause of this disease I believe to be from the same source 
as that affecting the Rose, Carnation, and many other 
kinds of plants used for forcing in winter, namely, that 
the continued high temperature necessary to produce 
flowers is contrary to what the nature of these plants 



190 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

demands, a season of rest in winter ; this being in part 
denied them, the plants are weakened in vitality and 
consequently become more or less a prey to disease. To 
avert that as much as possible, cuttings should be taken 
from the runners of the Violets in October, rooted and 
kept in cold frames over winter, which gives them the 
necessary season of rest, and planted out at one foot apart 
each way as soon as the ground is dry enough to work 
in spring, by midsummer they will have started to grow 
freely ; from that time until the middle of September be 
careful that all runners are pinched off, so that the whole 
force of the root can be used to form the crowns for 
flowering, exactly as Strawberry runners are pinched off 
to produce fruit. The plants thus prepared for flowering 
about the end of September are dug up with balls and 
potted in seven or eight-inch pots, or planted in five or 
six inches of soil in the benches of the greenhouse at a 
foot apart. Shade and water for a few days until they 
have made young roots, after which give all the ventila- 
tion possible until November. By this time fire heat may 
be required, but be careful never to let the temperature 
get over fifty degrees at night. As the plants start to 
grow, all yellow leaves and weeds should be removed. 

The greenhouses used for forcing Violets have usually 
been the narrow eleven foot houses, but I am convinced 
that the rose house structure (page 158) would answer 
better, as the greatest amount of light in winter is indis- 
pensable for all flowering plants. Care, however, must 
be taken that the heating apparatus is so arranged as to 
secure the necessary low night temperature. Thus, when 
eight runs of four-inch hot-water pipes are necessary for 
the rose-house twenty feet wide, six runs will be ample 
for such plants as Violets, Carnations, Primulas, Stevias, 
Azaleas. Camellias, or Mignonette ; when a ten or eleven- 
foot greenhouse is used, three runs of pipes will usually 
be found sufficient in the latitude of New York, to give 



VIOLETS, CHRYSANTHEMUMS, ETC. 191 

p. night temperature of forty-five or fifty degrees in cold 
weather. The varieties used of the double kinds of Violets 
are : Neapolitan (light blue), Maria Louise (dark blue), 
and Swanley White (white); of the single blues the Schon- 
bruun is the best. A new Double lied or Carmiue-colored 
Violet has been introduced this season (1887), known as 
Madam Millet. It will no doubt be greatly prized, 
as it is an entirely new and unexpected color. It has all 
the characteristics of the Maria Louise variety, in fra- 
grauce, vigor of growth, and profusion of flowering. 

CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 

Chrysanthemums until recently were not regarded as 
winter flowering plants, they being only used to fill in 
the months of October and November, a season at which 
flowers are usually scarce. Now, by using the late 
flowering kinds, and pinching them back as late as it is 
safe to do so, say September 1st, there is no difficulty in 
having them in bloom until the 1st of January, though 
they hardly can be had much later. Another value of 
chrysanthemums, not generally known, is that the flowers 
can be kept in water in a cool place for three weeks after 
being cut, which is longer by one-half than they will 
keep on the growing plants after they are fully developed. 

Two methods are used to grow chrysanthemums for 
flowers ; one is by growing them on during the summer, 
beginning to shift from small pots in May or June, until 
seven or eight inch pots become necessary by October. 
The other is to plant young plants in June at twelve or 
fifteen inches apart, each way, inside a greenhouse, or 
somewhere where they can be covered with glass by 
middle of October ; in both cases the plants must be 
grown without check, being w T atered freely, and supplied 
with liquid manure if the soil is not rich enough, and 
regularly " topped," so as to make them bushy, the 
early kinds, however, must not be "topped " later than 



192 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

1st of August, though the late kinds may be pinched back 
a month latter. When extra large flowers are desired, 
all buds, but one, as soon as they can be seen, should be 
removed from each shoot, this will produce flowers such 
as are seeu at Exhibitions, the large kinds often measur- 
ing six, seven and eight inches in diameter. There has been 
quite a run on these large flowers in New York lately, 
single flowers of Mrs. Wheeler, Count of Germany, and 
Cullingfordi, selling for fifty cents each ; ordinary flowers 
average, perhaps, S3 per hundred. 

As it is of the utmost importance in growing chrys- 
anthemums to be used as cut flowers, to choose the 
earliest and the latest kinds, I append a list of each 
class, which has been most carefully chosen, and is the 
very best that can be selected at this date. 

Early Flowering Chrysanthemums : Bouquet Na- 
tionale, fine large double flowers, pure white, with 
lemon centre ; Bouquet Fait, delicate rosy lilac, shaded 
silvery white ; Elaine, beautiful waxy white, perfect 
form, extra fine ; Early Eed Dragon, dark yellow, 
streaked bronze and crimson ; Gloriosum, bright sulphur 
yellow, very free flowering ; Geo. Glenny, a fine old 
early yellow, incurved ; J. Collins, salmon maroon, 
shaded bronze ; Mrs. Brett, round, sulphur yellow ; M. 
Lemoine, dark yellow, streaked bronze and crimson ; 
Md. Grame, pure white, fine incurved flower ; Mrs. S. 
Lyon, large single white, golden centre ; Sonce d'Or, 
intense yellow, shaded "old gold." 

Late Chrysanthemums, "Christmas" Collection. 
— Comprising such kinds as perfect their flowers in the 
house about the holiday season : Bend d'Or, pure golden 
yellow, as the flowers mature, the petals lap over, forming 
ribbon-like belts; Cullingfordi, scarlet and crimson; Count 
of Germany, vermillion and gold ; Christmas Eve, pure 
white ; Fantasie, pink, shading to white ; Fair Maid of 
Guernsey, clear dazzling white, immense ball-like flowers ; 



VIOLETS, CHRYSANTHEMUMS, ETC. 193 

Golden Dragon, very large, color dark golden yellow, 
broad heavy petals ; Jupiter, brilliant reddish crimson ; 
Jas. Salter, clear light yellow, beautifully incurved, as 
the flower opens ; Lord Byron, dark rich crimson, 
shaded old gold ; Lady Slade, delicate purple pink, 
beautifully incurved ; Mrs. C. L. Allen, carmine, yellow 
centre ; Moonlight, immense size, beautiful lemon 
white ; Mrs. C. H. Wheeler, vermillion and old gold ; 
Maid of Athens, very large, pure snosv white ; Talford 
Salter, dwarf compact grower, color rich crimson, 
streaked golden bronze ; Yellow Eagle, very large, dark 
golden yellow, ribbon-like petals ; Thorpe Jr., rich yel- 
low, Anemone-formed center ; one of the best. 

CARNATIONS. 

The cultivation of the Carnation is very simple. It is 
rooted from cuttings at any time from October to April, 
and as the plant is almost hardy, it may be planted out 
with safety in the open ground in early spring, as soon as 
cabbage, lettuce, or any other plant of that nature. 
Many, for want of this knowledge, kesp Carnations, in 
the greenhouse or pits until the time for setting out 
tender plants in May, thereby not only having the use- 
less trouble of taking care of them, but depriving them 
of six weeks of a season well adapted to their growth. 

They are best planted out in beds of six rows, nine 
inches apart, and the same distance between the plants, 
with eighteen inch alleys between the beds. The Carna- 
tion is very impatient of a wet soil, and care should be 
taken that the land be dry naturally, or it must be 
drained. As the Carnations grow they throw up flower 
shoots, which must be cut off all through the season, 
until about the 1st of September. If the plants are 
wanted for winter flowering, this pinching back of the 
flower shoots induces a dwarf and stocky growth, which 
is very desirable in the Carnation. If they are grown in 



194 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

large quantities for winter flowering, by far the best 
way is to plant them on the benches of the greenhouse, 
at about the same distance as they were growing outside, 
any time in October ; but if only a few are required, to 
mix in with a general collection of plants, it is more 
convenient to grow them in pots, so that they may be 
moved about as may be necessary. 

In nearly every section of the country for the past ten 
years, there has been great loss, from an insidious disease 
attacking Carnations, causing them to die off rapidly, 
botli in the field and in the green-house. There is appar- 
ently no remedy for this, but prevention. As in the case 
of Violets, Roses, and other plants grown for winter 
flowers, there is but little doubt that the continued forc- 
ing, without rest, debilitates the plants to such a degree 
as to invite the attack of fungi and other parasites. The 
remedy then is to rest the plants, bringing them as 
nearly as possible to their natural condition. To attain 
this in my own practice, we have for many years rooted the 
cuttings of Carnations, Violets, and all such nearly hardy 
plants, before January, planting the rooted cuttings into 
boxes, or potting them in small pots, and when sufficiently 
rooted in the boxes or pots, stowing them away in cold 
greenhouses, or cold pits, until the time of planting out 
in spring. By this method it is rare that we have any 
symptom of disease. 

Although we have some hundreds of varieties, as in 
the case of Roses, we have only a few suited for winter 
flowering. The best of which are : Hintzs (white), 
Sunrise (orange yellow). Century (deep carmine), Gar- 
field (scarlet), Grace Wilder (light rose), Pride of Pen- 
hurst (clear yellow), Royal Purple (crimson), and 
Crimson King (crimson), Quaker City (white) very late, 
La Purite (carmine). 

The flowers of La Purite and other colored sorts sell 
in New York at $:l per hundred, the whites usually at $3 



BOUVARDIAS. 195 

per hundred, when cut with long stems ; for short stems, 
about half the price. Even at these low prices they are a 
fairly profitable crop, as the bulk of the flowers is given 
previous to the middle of February, when the forced 
plants, being of but little use, are usually thrown out to 
make room for other plants. Although the Carnation 
is nearly a hardy plant and may be kept anywhere in 
winter in a cold greenhouse, or pit even if occasionally 
slightly frozen, yet it is also susceptible of being forced 
freely. We usually keep our houses, when we are forc- 
ing for flowers, at from fifty to sixty degrees at night, 
with ten degrees higher in day-time. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

BOUVARDIAS, STEVIAS, EUPATORIUMS, HELIO- 
TROPES, POINSETTIA, AND OTHER WINTER- 
FLOWERING PLANTS. 

BOUVARDIAS 

Are propagated by pieces of the roots, in April, or by 
cuttings, during the summer months (see Propagation), 
and when these, from the root cuttings, have thrown up 
a growth of two or three inches they are potted in two- 
inch pots and planted out in the open ground at a dis- 
tance of nine or ten inches apart, in the latter part of May. 

The plants that have been put out in the open ground 
in May will have grown to a fine, bushy form by Septem- 
ber 1st, if due attention has been given to nipping off the 
tops every two weeks during summer. By this date they 
should be taken up and potted, not later, as the 
Bouvardia requires warm weather to form roots ; if 
possible, they should be lifted with balls of earth adher- 



10G PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

ing to the roots, as they wilt very easily, and the plants 
require great care in lifting. In any case, it is necessary 
to shade and freely water for six or seven days before 
exposing them to full sun. They had better be stood in the 
open ground or in a cold frame, after being potted, rather 
than put in a greenhouse, as it is very necessary that they 
be fully exposed to light and air for as long a time as pos- 
sible, before placing them in their winter quarters in the 
greenhouse; but this outside exposure must not be 
risked too late, not later than October 1st, in this lati- 
tude, unless they can be covered up before there is danger 
to be apprehended from frost, as the Bouvardia is a very 
tender plant, and will be injured by a very slight degree 
of frost. They may either be grown in pots, or planted 
out from the pots to the benches, as we do with Carna- 
tions and many other things. Our own practice, as we 
have before said, is to set all such plants out in the 
benches, as the flowers produced are much finer, owing to 
their having a more regular condition of moisture at the 
roots ; besides, this gives a greater area for the roots to 
run in. We have said the Bouvardia is a hot- house 
plant ; therefore if flowers are wanted in the early part 
of winter, the temperature at night should range from 
fifty-five to sixty-five degrees. The leading varieties of 
Bouvardia are : Double Pink ; Double White ; Elegans, 
single, bright carmine ; Vulcan, single, scarlet ; Priory 
Beauty, single, rose color ; Dazzler, single, deep scarlet ; 
Vreelandi, single, white; Humboldti is a beautiful, Jessa- 
mine-scented variety, with large, waxy-white flowers, but 
it is only useful in early fall and in spring, as it will not 
flower freely in midwinter. Bouvardia flowers sell at 
about $2 per hundred trusses. 

STEVIAS AND EUPATORIUMS. 

Stcvias and Eupatoriums are yet much used for winter ; 
they arc white-flowering plants, of no particular beauty 



STEVIAS AND EUPATOBIUMS — HELIOTROPES. 197 

in tliemselves, but admirably adapted from their feathery- 
like sprays, for mixing in with bright-colored flowers. 
They are of easy propagation, and being of rampant 
growth, had better always be grown in pots throughout 
the summer — plunging the pots to the rim in the usual 
way, to save watering. They can all be grown to flower 
in a low greenhouse temperature, and as many of them 
bloom rather early in the winter, every expedient is used 
to keep them as cold as possible, without freezing. 

Stevia compacta and Stevia compacta nana, very 
dwarf, flower during November; Stevia serrata and 
Stevia serrata folia variegata flowers rather denser than 
the green-leaved variety and beautiful when grown as a 
specimen greenhouse plant ; both flower in December. 
We have just obtained a dwarf kind of this variegated 
variety, which will prove valuable for white ribbon-line 
planting. 

Eupatorium arboreum flowers from November to Jan- 
uary, by retarding portions in cold frames ; Eupatorium 
salicifolium flowers throughout January ; Eupatorium 
elegans from February to March. The flowers rate at 
about the same price as Bouvardias. 

HELIOTROPES. 

The manner of growing the Heliotrope for winter 
flowers is nearly identical with that for the Stevia or Eu- 
patorium, during the summer months ; only, like the 
Bouvardia, it requires heat to bring the flowers out in 
profusion in winter. The varieties best adapted for forc- 
ing are : White Lady, nearly white ; The Queen, violet 
white eye ; Negro, blackish purple ; Birnie, lavender, 
richly fragrant. 

The Heliotrope flowers without intermission during 
the entire season, if kept growing. Flowers average 
about $1 per hundred. 



198 PRACTICAL FLOKICULTl'RE. 



POINSETTTA PULCHERRIMA. 



The Poinsettia pulcherrima is grown from cuttings of 
the green, or of the ripened wood in April or May, and 
shifted as required during the summer, plunging the pots 
in beds in the open ground. In my own practice, I find 
that boxes eighteen by thirty inches and six inches deep, 
are more convenient than growing them in pots. Six 
plants are set out in each box, and when placed on the 
benches where they are to flower, the sides are knocked 
from the boxes, and the space between the squares of earth 
filled in with rich compost. Place it in winter quarters 
before the weather has become cold enough to chill it, 
not later than October 1st, as it is a tender tropical plant, 
and requires a hot-house temperature of not less than 
sixty-five degrees at night for its full development. 

Grown in this heat, it is a plant of the most gorgeous 
beauty, the bracts or leaves surrounding the flower-clus- 
ters averaging, on well-grown plants, one foot in diam- 
eter ; grown as a hot-house plant, it is in full perfection 
at the holidays, and is now largely used for decoration. 
Many thousand heads are sold in New York annually, at 
an average of 125 per 100. 

Euphorbia jacquinijiora and E. splejidens are plants 
of the same family as Poinsettia, and require similar 
treatment in all respects. The former, from its style of 
growth, is much used for wreathing, but neither of them 
are as yet extensively grown. 

BEGONIAS — OF SORTS. 

The Begonias cultivated for winter blooming have 
drooping Fuchsia-like flowers of different shades from 
white to scarlet, and are used to a considerable extent as 
a "fringe flower" for sides of baskets and vases. San- 
dersonii, metallica and fuchsioides are fine, having 
bright scarlet flowers produced in great abundance; car- 



FUCHSIAS — JASMINUM — DOUBLE BALSAMS. 199 

nea, a rich pink, and marmorata, a flesh-colored sort, are 
also desirable. B. rubra, a most gorgeous carmine scar- 
let, has panicles one foot in length on well grown plants. 
The price for the same size is about the same as for 
Bouvardias. 

FUCHSIAS. 

There are but few kinds of Fuchsias adapted for con- 
tinuous blooming in winter, but these are very desirable, 
and whether grown as ornamental specimens for the 
conservatory or for cutting for flowers, they are much 
valued. 

The best in our experience are F. speciosa, F. aurora, 
Earl of Beaconsfield, Beacon, Mrs. Geo. Bundle, Beauty 
of Swanley, all of which have long drooping flowers of 
light colors ; few of the dark kinds flower in winter. 
Two-year-old plants bloom in the greatest profusion, 
plants one foot in diameter giving upwards of 100 flow- 
ers, which are much esteemed for their rare color and 
graceful drooping habit. 

JASMINUM GRANDIFLORUM. 

This is grown to the best advantage by permanent 
planting out in the greenhouse, and training to a rafter 
or trellis. Its pare white flowers and delicious fragrance 
make it much prized at all seasons. The flowers do not 
carry well, as they drop off easily, but it is valuable for 
home use. 

DOUBLE BALSAMS. 

Beginners with limited means, when short of stock for 
winter flowering, may very cheaply procure flowers of the 
Double Balsams, particularly for the late fall months. 

If sown in August and potted into six or seven-inch 
pots, in light, warm hot-houses, they will flower until the 
holidays. 



200 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

BIGNONIA VENUSTA AND JASMINOIDES. 

These are greenhouse climbers, which only do well as 
permanent rafter plants, usually not flowering until they 
are two or three years old ; by that time, however, they 
usually cover the rafters to a length of twenty or thirty 
feet. B. venusta is bright orange ; B. jasminoides is 
purple and white. The flowers are formed in immense 
clusters and are extensively used during winter. The 
colors of both, although entirely different, are novel 
additions to our usual colors of flowers. ■ 

SWEET ALYSSUM. 

Sow in August in a cold frame, thin out so that the 
plants will stand six or eight inches apart, and leave 
without the covering of the sash until frost is expected in 
September or October ; these plants will flow T er abundantly 
until January, if covered up by sash and mats so as to 
exclude the frost ; or they may be sown in August or 
September, and grown in pots and flowered in a cold 
greenhouse during the winter months. 

MIGNONETTE. 

The following article on Mignonette is copied from the 
"American Florist " of November, 1886, written by Mr. 
Charles Bird, Arlington, N. J., who has for years been 
one of the most successful growers of Mignonette in 
winter for the New York market : 

" I will first describe what I consider the proper kind of 
a house to grow this plant in ; afterwards the treatment. 
The house should be a low one, without benches, as 
experience has demonstrated to me that sufficient soil 
cannot be accommodated upon a bench to allow the roots 
of this plant the freedom and depth necessary to properly 
develop itself. I would prefer to have the house running 
from north to south ; that is, having one side facing 
east, the other west, and of eleven feet in width. Dig 
out a walk in the centre about eighteen inches deep, brick 



MIGNONETTE. 201 

up the sides with one course of brick laid flatwise, 
giving them a slight coating of cement to strengthen them. 

" Now we are ready to prepare our border, and this is 
an operation in the cultivation of mignonette about 
which a great deal might be said. I once read an article 
written by a practical florist in a weekly paper about the 
cultivation of flowers, in which he stated that 'most 
flowers liked deep, rich soil ; there were some, however, 
that thrived equally well in any soil;' and mignonette 
was one of the plants he enumerated as among the latter 
class. I have seen mignonette grown, and offered for 
sale, under the latter conditions, but it was a very differ- 
ent article from that grown in a well-prepared border. 
I have seen roots that extended down by actual measure- 
ment seventeen inches, and have no doubt that under 
very favorable conditions they would root much deeper. 
My advice, therefore, to those who would have fine mig- 
nonette is to spare no pains in the preparation of the 
bed. Enrich it thoroughly with plenty of well-rotted cow 
manure — one part in four is none too much — to a depth of 
not less than eighteen inches ; mix thoroughly and pul- 
verize well. Of course the bed must be drained artifi- 
cially, if the subsoil is such that the water will not pass 
through freely. 

"Sow your seed directly in the bed, or put out your 
plants from seed sown in pots, any time after August 15. 
Be careful not to allow them to crowd each other too much. 
I have at this writing, October 1, two houses, each one 
hundred feet long and eleven feet wide, beds made 
as before described, sown in mignonette, plants all thin- 
ned out eight inches apart each way, and by mid-winter 
very little of the soil in the border will be visible by reason 
of the foliage of the plants. This distance, of course, only 
applies to the large strong-growing varieties. The plants 
of the common old variety might be left four by eight 
inches, the latter being the distance between the rows. 



202 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

The plants will thrive much better if the surface of the 
soil is gone over frequently and kept loose, and great 
care should be taken that no chickweed is left after the 
plants have become too large to continue this operation, 
as this pest luxuriates in the cool, rich border, and will 
give you endless trouble later on, by making a complete 
tangle of your bed. I find, in watering mignonette, that 
if kept moderately moist it is tougher, and will keep 
better, than if kept too wet. When planted out in a bed 
like the one I have previously described, during the 
winter months, one watering each month will be found 
sufficient (if thoroughly watered), which is my plan 
under all circumstances. A great many failures in the 
cultivation of flowers and plants arise from the habit of 
half watering. My plan is to soak thoroughly, and then 
withhold water entirely until the appearance of the soil or 
plant indicates need of more moisture. 

"I have adopted a system of 'brushing' — using branches 
such as are used for supporting peas ; only, of course, 
of a size suitable to height of the mignonette — between 
the rows to keep the plants perpendicular, for unless they 
have some support they will fall in every direction, and 
the result is crooked stems and altogether too many 
shoots. By keeping the plants as near upright as 
possible and breaking the shoots well back in picking, 
the number of shoots needed can be calculated very 
easily; and the last spikes gathered in June will be 
nearly as fine as those picked in November and December, 
for the roots are down feeding in the cool, rich soil at 
the bottom of the border. 

" The temperature must be low, about forty degrees at 
night ; no matter if it touches freezing point ; give plenty 
of air whenever the weather will permit. It will not 
mature as fast as if kept warmer, but your spikes will be 
all the finer, and you will find a steady demand and 
ready sale. I don't knoV any plant that c mixes ' as 



MIGNONETTE— AZALEAS. 203 

easily as this. The greatest care must be taken in 
saving seed if you would preserve pure any particular 
strain, and I find, instead of improving by mixing and 
promiscuous gathering of seed, that the reverse is the 
case. A neighbor of mine has a number of hives of bees, 
and in the early spring the odor of my mignonette 
attracts them, and they literally swarm among the 
blooms ; of course if there are any plants of inferior 
quality in the beds the other plants are thoroughly fer- 
tilized from them by the bees, and my crop of seed is 
badly mixed ; hence the importance of weeding out any 
plants of inferior quality before any blossoms have 
developed from which you intend saving seed. A notion 
prevails that home-grown seed is not as good as imported 
seed. This is sheer nonsense ; it may apply to some 
varieties of plants, but certainly not to mignonette. 
When home-grown seed has failed to give satisfaction 
it is because of lack of pains in harvesting, or poor 
cultivation." This is true of nearly all seeds ; it is not 
ivliere it is grown, but what is grown, that determines its 
value. 

AZALEAS. 

These are grown to a considerable extent as specimen 
greenhouse plants ; propagated from the young wood in 
March ; potted and planted out in the open ground in 
May they make fine plants by fall, but most of the varie- 
ties do not bloom freely until the second year ; as they 
can be grown cheaper in Europe, we of late years import 
nearly all we sell. The Azalea is a plant having very 
fine roots, and consequently requires a soil composed 
largely of leaf mould or peat to grow to the best advan- 
tage. There are now several hundred sorts, many of 
them of great beauty. They are used to a considerable 
extent in cut-flower pieces, particularly the white varie- 
ties, double whitas being preferred, as the flowers of 



204 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

the double keep much longer than the single. The plants, 
particularly the whites, are largely used for church dec- 
oration. In growing the plants in winter the tempera- 
ture should not exceed fifty degrees at night. 

HEATHS. 

Heaths are at present little grown here for winter flow- 
ers, our hot summers making their culture troublesome, 
except with a few of the freer growing sorts, such as 
Erica gracilis (carmine), E. persoluta (deep rose), 
E. persoluta alba, E. vernalis and E. Actea, all white. 
They are best grown from cuttings of the young wood in 
March, in soil similar to that used for Azaleas ; if planted 
out in the open ground in May in light rich soil, they 
will in one season make plants large enough to flower 
the first season ; but, like Azaleas, they are cheaper to 
import than to grow. Winter culture very similar to 
Azaleas. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

ORCHIDS. 
ORCHIDS MOST SUITABLE FOR FLORISTS' WORK. 

Having no experience in Orchid culture, I addressed the 
following queries to Mr. William Gray, of Albany, N. Y., 
whose knowledge of Orchid culture is second to none in 
this country and probably not to any in Europe. The 
replies to the questions are in every instance from the 
pen of Mr. Gray : 

1st — What are the best twelve or twenty-four kinds of 
Orchids most suitable for florists' work ? The best twelve 
for florists are Cattleya triamna>, Dendrobium nobile, 



ORCHIDS. 205 

Dendrobium Wardianum, Lcelia anceps, Ccelogyne cris- 
ta la, Lycaste Skinner Li, Odontoglossum Alexandra?, 
Odontoglossum Pescatorei, Cypripedium insigne, Phajus 
Wallichii, Calanthe Veitchii, Calanthe veslita. The next 
twelve are Cattleya Mossice, Ccelogyne ocellata, Cypripe- 
dium Spicerianum, Cypripedium villosum, Dendrobium 
crassinode, Phajus grand! J 'alius, Phalcenopsis amabilis, 
Phalcenopsis Schiller iana, Phalcenopsis Stuartiana, 
Vanda ccerulca, Vauda Sanderiana, Zygopetalum 
Hackayi. 

2d — What kinds of these arc best suited for growing in 
pots, and what is the soil used ? Cattleyas, Dendrobiums 
and Odontoglossums do well in coarse chopped peat, pots 
nearly filled with crocks ; Ccelogyne and Lycaste, coarse, 
sandy peat, with chopped, half decayed leaves ; Cypripe- 
diums, Phajus and Zygopetalums in peat and loam, and a 
little rotten manure ; Phalcenopsis, Vandas and Laelias 
do well in baskets, pots or small pans, in chopped sphag- 
num ; the drainage must be perfect. Calanthes, chopped 
sods of sandy loam, with not over fine leaf mould ; the 
plants must be made steady with stakes and copper wire. 

3d — What kinds are suited to grow on bark or cork, or 
other such material, and what compost or other substance 
is used ? Cattleyas, Laelias, Phalcenopsis, Vandas and 
Dendrobiums do well on blocks of cork, rafts, cylinders, 
etc. , with sphagnum or other moss; but take more care, as 
they dry so quickly. A plant on a block will take water 
twice a day, the same in a basket only once in two 
days ; blocks can be hung overhead, but the expense of 
dipping the blocks twice a day in water would, for a 
florist, not be remunerative. 

4th — At about what night and day temperature should 
such varieties as you have named be grown ? Phalce- 
nopsis, Vandas, Dendrobiums and Cypripediums in win- 
ter — thermometer, sixty to sixty-five degrees at night, to 



206 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

seventy-five degrees by day, with air ; in summer, seventy 
degrees night, ninety or more degrees by day, with plenty 
of air and ventilation at night. Cattleya, Lcelia, Phajus, 
Calanthe, Ccelogyne and Zygopetalum — in winter, fifty- 
five or sixty degrees at night, seventy degrees with sun 
by day ; in summer, sixty-five degrees at night, eighty-five 
degrees by day, with plenty of air. Odontoglossums — in 
winter, fifty-five degrees at night, sixty-five degrees by 
day ; in summer, as cool as they can be kept. All want 
abundance of atmospheric moisture night and day. 

5th — What period of the year is the growing season ? 
Phalamopsis and Vandas grow at all seasons ; Cypripe- 
diums, Catlleyas and Lcelias in spring ; Calanthe, Cce- 
logyne, Phajus and Zygopetalums in summer ; when any 
plant grows in winter (except Odontoglossums) it should 
be placed in a warm house ; Odontoglossums do best at a 
temperature of fifty-five to seventy degrees, never hotter, 
if possible. 

6th — What period of the year is the resting season ? 
Orchids are at rest when the growth is mature. Cattleya 
triance, Lmlia anceps and Cypripedium insigne bloom 
during the resting period, which is from December to 
January. PhalcBnopsis and Vandas grow all the year; 
during the short dark days of fall and winter less food is 
given by withholding water. Calanthe, Ccelogyne and 
Phajus bloom with the maturity of the growth, then 
lay dormant until spring. 

7th — What is the best shading for an Orchid house 
when ground glass is not used ? The Phalamopsis and 
Odontoglossums I shade with canvas raised eighteen 
inches above the roof ; all other houses I shade with thin 
paint, made of turpentine and whiting or white lead ; 
lay it on the middle of March and brush it off the middle of 
October ; the plants do well. Ground glass is too dark 
from October to March for plants ; nothing does well with 



ORCHIDS. 207 

me under it. I use first quality glass. The glass is 
shaded with canvas from March to October, from nine 
o'clock in the morning to four o'clock in the afternoon, 
except on clondy days. 

8th — Any further information that you think would 
be useful, please add. 

Orchids grown to pay a florist would have to be grown 
in quantity, each species with a house to itself. The most 
of the twenty-four species named could be had in flower 
from November to April in a house 150 by 20 feet ; 
all plants with a tendency to early maturity should be 
placed at the warm end of the house, or in the fall parti- 
tion off fifty feet at the warmer end for the most forward. 
The plants would have to be imported from the woods at 
first cost (established j)lants at present prices would be 
too expensive), and the flowers sold cheap to become 
popular. Orchid growing to-day is where Eose growing 
was thirty-five years ago. To sum up : In the culti- 
vation of Orchids all plants when newly potted should 
be made firm, otherwise if the plants move by spring- 
ing, or other cause, the rootlets will be destroyed. The 
atmosphere of an orchid house should always be moist, 
winter and summer, in winter allowing the pottery 
material to become more dry. Light and air are essen- 
tial to vigorous growth, deluging with water when in act- 
ive growth, but never closing top ventilation ; never hav- 
ing a stagnant atmosphere, gradually withholding water 
as the growth approaches maturity, and then only enough 
to keep from shriveling. As to time for re-potting the 
cultivator is guided by the commencement of growth ; 
plants should always be under-potted as long as the 
plant is not top-heavy, such as Gattleyas, Lcelias, Den- 
drobiums, etc. ; a top dressing is all that is needful. 
Calanthe, Phajas, etc., are re-potted annually. 

Insects, such as thrips and aphis, are kept under by 
filling the evaporating pans, or other vessels, with 



208 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

chopped tobacco stems covered with water. Slugs are 
kept down by placing lettuce leaves, sliced potatoes or 
carrots on pots, which examine daily and destroy ; 
roaches and water bugs, by mixing roach poison and 
molasses, placed on oyster shells at convenient points 
in the greenhouse. These same remedies will be found 
effective against insects attacking any kind of green- 
house plant. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

CHINESE PRIMROSE, GERANIUM, CAMELLIA AND 
EUCHARIS. 

CHINESE PRIMROSE. 

Chinese Primroses, particularly the double white, were 
eighteen years ago, when I first wrote " Practical Flori- 
culture," among the most valued of winter flowers ; 
but since then the fashion of using flowers mainly with 
long stems, such as Eoses, Carnations and similar 
flowers, has thrown the modest Primrose nearly out 
of cultivation for the purpose of cut flowers. The 
Chinese Primrose should be grown in rather a low 
temperature, say not more than fifty degrees at night. 
The double varieties are propagated by divisions or 
cuttings in March or April, and require a shaded, 
cool house for summer growth. Single Primroses, of 
which there are now some very grand varieties, both 
in size of flower and truss, and in brilliancy of colors 
range from richest crimson, through all intervening 
shades, to purest white. These are all raised from 
seed ; we have found the best time to sow is in February, 
in shallow boxes (see Propagation of Plants from Seed), 
picking out into similar boxes as soon as the seedlings 



GERANIUM — CAMELLIAS. 209 

are strong enough, at an inch or so apart ; they can 
remain in these boxes until May, when they should be 
potted into thumb pots and kept outside, covered by 
lathed shutters, which give them the necessary shade, at 
the same time allowing an abundance of air. In case of 
long continued rain storms, they must be covered with 
sashes, but not otherwise, until they are taken into the 
greenhouse in October. If wanted of a large size for 
winter-flowering, those plants of which the seeds were 
sown in February will be big enough to be put in seven or 
eight-inch pots by November, they will be at least one foot 
in diameter, and produce abundance of flowers during the 
entire winter. No plant is so satisfactory as a decorative 
plant as the single Chinese Primrose for winter, and 
large numbers are now grown by florists to sell in fall 
and winter. 

GERANIUM. 

The semi-double varieties of the Geranium make a 
most brilliant addition to our winter flowering plants. 
They are of all shades of scarlet, crimson, carmine and 
violet, together with the purest white ; the flowers can 
either be used singly or in full trusses. To get the 
most abundant crop of winter flowers from the Geranium, 
the stock should be started from young plants in 
spring, and shifted on in summer, until large enough to 
fill a seven or eight-inch pot with roots, when it should 
not be further shifted, as too much pot room induces too 
great a growth of leaves ; the flowers should be rubbed 
off of the plants during the summer. Plants thus treated 
will give abundance of flowers from November to May. 

CAMELLIAS. 

Twenty years ago Camellias were the most important 
flowers used in the construction of flower work ; now 
dame Fashion has put her veto on the Camellia, and the 



210 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

price in twenty years has gone from fifty dollars per 
hundred to five dollars per hundred flowers, with little 
demand even at that low price ; still, it seems a capricious 
and invidious "boycott" against this grand flower, and 
the day may yet come when it will be appreciated as 
it deserves. The Camellia requires winter treatment and 
temperature similar to the Azalea — cool, partial shade 
and low temperature for the best results. To such as 
desire full particulars of propagation and general manage- 
ment of the Camellia I would refer them to the excellent 
work on the " Culture of the Camellia and Azalea," by 
Eobert J. Halliday, Baltimore, Md. 

EUCHARIS. 

When the Eucharis, or Lily of the Amazon, is grown 
successfully, it is greatly valued, being much used in 
the best funeral work. The point is to get clean, healthy 
plants, free from mealy bug (which is a great pest to 
this plant). Keep potting it on as required until Octo- 
ber. When the ball is well matted with white roots it 
may be grown in a partially shaded greenhouse, both 
during summer and winter, with a night temperature in 
winter of sixty or sixty-five degrees. Water should be 
sparingly given after the pots have become filled with 
roots, only enough to keep the plants from wilting, from 
September to October, until the plant begins to throw up 
flower shoots in November, when it may be watered 
freely. There are several species now, but the best for 
winter appear to be E. candidus and E. grandiflorus. 

TROPiEOLUMS. 

The single and double scarlet Tropoeolums, when 
trained on rafters, which can be often done without 
ranch interfering with the growth of other plants m the 
greenhouse, are very useful, particularly for country 
florists having a local demand for cut flowers, as few 



PLANTS USED FOR FOLIAGE. 211 

things flower so freely, and the scarlet coloring is unex- 
celled in brilliancy by anything else grown in winter for 
cut flowers. 



CHAPTER XL. 

PLANTS USED FOR FOLIAGE-SMILAX, ASPARAGUS, 
FERNS, ETC. 

In the formation of cut flowers into bouquets, etc., the 
leaves form an indispensable part. In trimming the 
edges of baskets, Camellia leaves are yet much used, 
also Cissits discolor, a climbing hot-house plant, with 
brownish-crimson leaves splashed with white; it. requires 
a temperature of at least sixty degrees in winter, and 
never develops its rich coloring unless at a high temper- 
ature. Myrsiphyllum asparagoides (Smilax) is yet un- 
surpassed for all kinds of floral decorations, whether for 
the person, or in adding grace to floral ornaments for the 
table or room. Its leaves, or what passes for leaves, are 
small and glossy, are attached to very delicate wavy 
stems, and have the quality of retaining their firmness 
for along time without wilting. The plant is raised from 
the seed, or the roots may be purchased from dealers. 
The root consists of a cluster of fleshy tubers that throw 
out several slender stems, which, if furnished with sup- 
ports, will climb to the height of twenty feet. In the 
vicinity of all our large cities greenhouses are devoted ex- 
clusively to the cultivation of Smilax — the roots being 
planted in boxes, or in beds upon the ground, and the 
stems trained by strings up to the rafters. The plai its 
are usually set at four inches apart each way, and the 
stem quickly attaches itself to the strings, which should 
be at least eight or ten feet long. The best plants of 



212 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

Smilax to plant are such as have been grown the year pre- 
vious from seed ; these, if set out in August, will give a 
full crop by November. The stems being cut the roots 
will produce another crop by March, and yet another by 
May, if well handled ; the night temperature, after No- 
vember, should be from fifty-five to sixty. As Smilax 
does not require a specially light house, if such a house 
is used for it in the summer months it had better be 
shaded. Any good rich, loamy soil will grow Smilax. 

Since Smilax was introduced we have had two rivals 
useful for festooning purposes — namely, the Climbing 
Fern (Lygodium scandens) and Climbing Asparagus 
{Asparagus tenuissimus) , but neither have taken well, 
and I believe that a few years longer will put them out 
of cultivation for the purposes for which Smilax is used. 
The cultivation of these is almost identical with that 
of Smilax, except that the Asparagus does not seed and is 
raised from cuttings. 

ROSE, LEMON" AND APPLE-SCENTED GERANIUMS. 

The leaves of various scented geraniums are also used 
for mixing with flowers. AVhen used in the summer 
months the plants are usually planted out, but when re- 
quired for winter the treatment should be the same as 
for winter-flowering geraniums. 

FERNS. 

Ferns are much used for winter decoration, both as 
plants and to mix with cut-flower work. The species 
used are comparatively few and are mainly the Adian- 
tums, or Maiden Hair Ferns. Small plants of Adiantum 
are now used to mix in with baskets of cut flowers, 
instead of using the cut fronds. Among the best are : 
Adiantum cuneatum, A. amabilis, A. Roenbeckii, 
A. Williamsii, A. decorum, and A. Farley ense. Of 
other genera are : Davallia Mooriana, Pteris tremula, 



PLANTS USED FOR DECORATION OE ROOMS. 213 

Pteris cretica alba U neat a, Nephrolepsis exalt at a and 
Onychium Japonic am. As the culture of Ferns is a 
special part of floriculture, requiring conditions of struc- 
ture not usually found in ordinary florists establish- 
ment, I advise the purchase of plants from those who 
make a special business of growing ferns, of which there 
are now some in the vicinity of all large cities. 



CHAP TEE XLI. 
PLANTS USED FOR DECORATION OF ROOMS. 

In many cities of Europe, but particularly in London, 
an immense business is done in loaning plants for the 
decoration of public halls, churches and private dwell- 
ings. For the past dozen years a good deal has been 
done in it in our own large cities ; but our climate in 
winter is often such that it is a very hazardous matter to 
transport tropical plants, even for a short distance, when 
the thermometer stands at zero, with a high wind, 
unless tight covered wagons are used, with some means 
of heating them inside ; even a distance of a half a mile 
may be fatal to the plants. Such risks taken into con- 
sideration, together with the injury often done to plants 
by gas, getting dry, or other accidents, at least twenty- 
five per cent, of the value of the plant should be received 
per night for the loan ; that is, for each plant the selling 
value of which is $10 the nightly rent should be 
$2.50 if for one night only; of course, if for a longer 
time the price might be reduced accordingly. Again, 
the distance and the time of the year should enter into 
the question ; if the distance is great and the weather 
severe, the risk to the owner of the plants is increased, 
and he should charge accordingly. 

The kinds of plants used are comparatively few, and 
are such as are valued for grace of form and foliage more 



214 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

than for flower. The place where the plants are to be 
used must determine their size and their kind ; if for very- 
large halls, then large palms, often six feet in height 
and diameter are used ; but if for church decoration, to 
be simply used on the platform, plants from one to three 
feet are best ; and here, flowering plants, particularly at 
Easter, are used in preference. Among the palms best 
suited for decoration are : Latania Borbonica, Seaforthia 
elegans, Kentia australis, K. Belmoriana, K. Foster- 
iana, K. Wendlandi, Areca lutescens, A. Bauerii, A. 
Verschafeltii, Raphis flabelliformis, Phoenix rupicola, 
P. reclinata, P. tenuis, Oorypha australis, Chamoerops 
excelsa and Cocos Wedleyana. Of Dracenas : D. termin- 
alis, D. mdivisia, D. Cooperii, D. fragrans, D. draco, 
and D. australis. The "rubber plant," Ficus elastica, 
Pandanus utilis, P. Veitchii, are all much used. Plants 
used in fruit, such as : Solarium Hendersonii, Ardisia 
crenulata ; for flower, Chinese Primroses, Deutzias, Be- 
gonias, Cinerarias, Azaleas, Geraniums, Hyacinths and 
Tulips, Mignonette, Madam Plantier, or other white 
Eoses, are all used for decoration at Easter, and other 
occasions for church work. For decoration at any date 
previous to January nothing is equal to well-grown 
plants of Chrysanthemums, which are now largely used 
for such purposes. 

For the verandas of summer hotels, or those places, 
where plants are used for decoration during the summer 
or early fall months, the fancy-leaved Galadiums, of which 
there is now a most extensive variety, truly wonderful 
in their leaf markings, a description of which it is use- 
less to attempt, are finely adapted, as they are of the 
easiest growth during the hot months ; plants from 
three inch pots in May can be grown to a width of one 
and a half to two feet by September. The fancy kinds of 
Caladiums, though most of them are useless for planting 
in the open ground, are easily grown under glass or on 



PLANTS UNDER GLASS. 



215 



verandas, and make grand plants for summer or fall dec- 
oration, as their beautiful markings become fully devel- 
oped as the season advances. Begonia rex is also well 
adapted for verandas. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

GENERAL COLLECTION OF PLANTS GROWN UNDER 

GLASS. 

The tender plants, grown under glass, in our climate 
are divided into two classes — those styled " greenhouse 
plants," which may be grown in a night temperature of 
from forty to fifty degrees ; and those known as "hot- 
house" or "stove plants," requiring a night temperature 
from sixty to seventy degrees, with a day temperature, in 
both cases, from ten to fifteen degrees higher. But the 
line of temperature between greenhouse and hot-house 
plants cannot be closely drawn ; still, it will help begin- 
ners to give a short list of each, until experience enables 
them to make nicer distinctions. For a more extended 
list, see special greenhouse catalogues. 



GREENHOUSE PL 


,ANTS— NIGHT TEMPERATURE FROM FORTY 




TO FIFTY DEGREES 




Abelia. 


Bignonia. 


Correa. 


Abutilon. 


Bonapartea. 


Crowea. 


Acacia. 


Burchellia. 


Cuphea. 


Achyranthes. 


Calceolaria. 


Cyclamen. 


Agapanthus. 


Calla. 


Cyperus. 


Agave. 


Camellia. 


Daphne. 


Ageratum. 


Campsidium. 


Dianthus. 


Antirrhinum. 


Centaurea. 


Diosma. 


Alonsoa. 


Cereus. 


Diplacus. 


Aloysia. 


Cestrum. 


Epacris. 


Ardisia. 


Chorozema. 


Echeverias. 


Artemisia. 


Cineraria. 


Epiphyllum. 


Asclepias. 


Clethra. 


Erica. 


Azalea. 


Clivia. 


Erythrina. 


Babiana. 


Convolvulus. 


Eugenia. 


Beaufortia. 


Coronilla. 


Eupatorium. 



216 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



Fabiana. 

Ferraria. 

Fuschias. 

Gardenia. 

Gazania. 

Geranium. 

Hydrangea. 

Indigofera. 

Inga. 

Jasminum. 

Kennedya. 

Lachenalia. 

Lechenaulia. 

Libonia. 

Lobelia. 

Linum. 

Mahernia. 



Manettia. 

Mandevilla. 

Maurandia. 

Metrosideros. 

Mimulus. 

Mesembryanthemum. 

Myrsiphyllum. 

Mimulus. 

Myrtus. 

Nerium. 

Passiflora. 

Pelargonium. 

Pentstemon. 

Petunia. 

Pilea. 

Pyrethmm. 

Primula. 



Pilogene. 

Rhynehospermum. 

Rueilia. 

Scutellaria. 

Sedum. 

Seuecio. 

Solandra. 

Solanum. 

Sollya. 

Sparmannia. 

Stevia. 

Streptosolen. 

Tradescantia. 

Tremaudra. 

Verbena. 

Veronica. 



STOVE, OR HOT-HOUSE PLANTS, 



Comprising such plants as should be kept at a night 
temperature ranging from sixty to seventy degrees : 



iBchmea. 

^Escbynautbus. 

Allamanda. 

Alocasia. 

Alternanthera. 

Antburium. 

Apbelaudra. 

Ai - aUa. 

Ardisia. 

Begonia. 

Bertolonia. 

Billbergia. 

Bonapartea. 

Bouganvillea. 

Brexia. 

C'aladium. 

Centradeuia. 

Cissus. 

Clerodendrou. 

Coleus. 

Croton. 



Dichorisandra. 

DiefTenbachia. 

Dipladenia. 

Dracaena. 

Ecbites. 

Eucbaris. 

Erantbemum. 

Euphorbia. 

Gesneria. 

Gloriosa. 

Gloxinia. 

Goldfussia. 

Goodyera. 

Heliotrope. 

Hoya. 

Imantopbylluui. 

Ipomoea. 

Justicia. 

Lapageria. 

Lasiandra. 

Maranta. 



Medinilla. 

Monoehretum. 

Nepenthes. 

Pbilodendron. 

Poinsettia. 

Potbos. 

Rogiera. 

Rondeletia. 

Rueilia. 

Russelia. 

Sanchezia. 

Sonerilla. 

Stepbanotis. 

Tacsonia. 

Tapina. 

Tielanthera. 

Tillandsia. 

Torcnia. 

Tropseolum. 

Tydaea. 

Urceolina. 



For lists of bardy and tender annuals, see tbe seed catalogues. 
For lists of bardy shrubs, see nurserymen's catalogues. 
For lists of climbing plants, see nurserymen's catalogues. 
For lists of hardy herbaceous plants, see lists of such as make a spe- 
cial business of growing them. 



CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS, ETC. 217 

CHAPTER XLIII. 

CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS, BASKETS, ETC. 

The greater part of the following chapter on making 
up flowers into bouquets, etc., descriptive of the va- 
rious styles then in use in New York and vicinity, was 
written by James H. Park, of Brooklyn, L.I., in 1868. 
Since then there have been innovations made that render 
some of Mr. Park's instructions then given of little use. 
These portions I have stricken out, adding, to the best of 
my information, the flowers now most in use, with the pres- 
ent modes of construction. Mr. Park's taste and judg- 
ment in this business gave him an enviable reputation, and 
had the natural consequence of bringing to him the best 
customers of New York and Brooklyn, so that at the age 
of forty-five he was enabled to retire on a fortune of 
upwards of $100,000, made entirely from the profits of 
his business, begun on a capital of $3,000 fifteen years 
before, a better showing than any one within my know- 
ledge has ever made under similar circumstances. 

With the earliest civilization of our race, flowers 
began to be cherished and employed for decorative pur- 
poses ; nor is their arrangement in bouquets a modern ait, 
although its practice is of comparatively recent and mar- 
vellous growth among us. 

Many people decry the artificial arrangement of 
flowers ; but how shall we otherwise use them to advan- 
tage ? The moment we begin to tie them together we 
leave nature, and ought to do so only to study art. In 
their simplest arrangement, form and color must bj 
studied to produce the best effect, and whoever best 
accomplishes this will surely succeed in displaying his 
flowers to the best advantage. 

Bouquet making is (oi at least ought to be) the art of 



^18 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

arranging flowers. Who has not seen bunches of beauti- 
ful flowers cut from the garden and tied up in the least 
artistic fashion with the most stupid result ? And who 
that has attended fashionable weddings or parties has 
not occasionally seen a large bouquet or basket in which 
the quantity of good flowers was its only merit — where a 
mass of flowers was muddled together in a most incon- 
gruous fashion, equally removed from both nature and 
art ? Nor is this fault that of the tyro in bouquet making 
only ; many who practice it as an occupation have not 
learned the first principles of tasteful arrangement. Yet 
great allowance may be made for the bouquet makers, 
when we consider how much like labor their work 
becomes. No oue, trying always to execute this work 
with taste, would ever accomplish the amount of 
work required of him in any thriving establishment, a 
great part of it being of necessity done hurriedly ; and as 
the variety of flowers is so great and constantly changing 
with the seasons, and their colors so varied, it is only by 
trying them in various combinations that the best results 
can be obtained. 

Probably the simplest, the easiest, and commonly the 
most desirable, method of using cut flowers is arranging 
them in vases. The more loosely and unconfused, the 
better. Crowding is particularly to be avoided, and to 
accomplish this readily a good base of greens is required, 
to keep the flowers apart. This filling up is a very 
important part in all bouquet making, and the neglect of 
it is the greatest stumbling-block of the uninitiated. 
Spiked and dropping flowers, with brandies and sprays 
of delicate green, are indispensable to the grace and 
beauty of a vase bouquet. To preserve the individuality 
of flowers, which is of the greatest importance, the 
placing of those of similar size and form together ought to 
be avoided. Thus Heliotrope, Stevia, Enpatorium, or 
Alyssum, when combined lose their distinctive beauty ; 



CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS, ETC. 219 

but, if placed in juxtaposition with larger flowers and 
those of other forms, their beauty is heightened by con- 
trast. It may be slated as a rule, that small flowers should 
never be massed together. Large flowers with green 
leaves or branches may be used to advantage alone, but a 
judicious contrast of forms is most effective. 

Nothing is so strikingly beautiful on a refreshment 
table as a handsome centre-piece of flowers. All the airy 
castles of the confectioner are passed over by the eye, 
which is at once arrested and refreshed by the brilliant 
beauty of the products of the garden or conservatory ; 
and we wonder how any person of taste, who possesses the 
means, should ever fail to have flowers on the table when 
entertaining friends. Considering the effect, flowers on the 
table, like plants in the garden, are certainly the cheapest 
of ornaments. There are those who would have nothing 
upon their table but what they can eat or drink — like 
a gentleman who once employed the writer of this to 
lay out a new garden, and objected to having roses 
planted by the fences, saying very earnestly : " Ah, yes ! 
I suppose they are very pretty ; but then, you see, we 
couldn't get anything to eat from them. Guess Ave 
won't have any of them things." Luckily for the well- 
being of poor humanity such desperately practical men 
are not very numerous. An epergne filled with flowers 
forms the most effective of table bouquets. For a large 
dinner table this bouquet holder ought to be from two to 
three feet in height, with three, four, or five branches ; 
and, if the table is very large, a small epergne at each 
end will add to the effect. For a less pretentious table 
an epergne twelve to eighteen inches in height may be 
used to equal advantage. The superiority of an epergne 
consists in its raising the flowers to a height sufficient to 
gain their full effect, whereas forms of flowers built from 
a lower vase lose much by the interference of surround- 
ing dishes. With a handsome epergne and the flowers 



220 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE, 



arranged in nearly semi-circular outline, pointed with 
two or more handsome flower-spikes, diversified with 
here and there a fine fern leaf and other sprays of lively 
green, with a few fine rose buds and spikelets of heath, 
acacia, or similarly formed flowers, projecting from the 
main body to give ease and grace, and with a profusion of 
bright green or variegated foliage and flowers in droop- 
ing sprays around, the best results may be attained. For 




Fig. 48. — BASKET OF FLOWERS (IN FASHION 1S67). 



such a bouquet a fair proportion of large flowers is indis- 
pensable, and an excess of projecting points is to be 
avoided as confusing. Table bouquets made in the 
fashion of the confectioner's stiff pyramids of macaroons 
are wretched decorations, and very discreditable to all 
connected with them. Better, a thousand times, to have 
half the quantity of flowers decently arranged. 

Baskets of flowers for decorating parlor tables, mantels, 
etc., ought to be somewhat in keeping with their sur- 
roundings ; a rough bouquet, adapted to grace a rustic 
table at a picnic, would not be in as good taste here as 



CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS, ETC. 



221 



something finer and more neatly put together. Oval 
and round are the only permissible forms for flower 
baskets ; the flowers ought also to be rounding in form, 
yet not too much so. We give an illustration (fig. 48) 
as I he easiest method of conveying our idea of the best 
outline. The basket shown here is also one of the best, 




Fig. 49.— BASKET OF FLOWERS (IN FASHION 1887). 



but whether high or low, the open round or oval basket 
is very effective. [I may here state that this formal 
method of filling flower baskets is, at this date of writing, 
completely ignored ; but it is well yet to let it be shown 
here, for who can tell what may be the next fashionable 
freak. This formal method of construction followed the 
neglige style now in use, which was that of forty 
years ago for what few bouquets or baskets were then 



222 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

constructed. — P. H.] The flowers used in the basket of 
flowers shown at figure 48 are : For the center, scarlet 
and white Fuchsias ; the next white line, Tuberoses ; the 
next dark line, blue Violets ; the next line, white Cam- 
ellias, the outer line surrounding these being Bouvardia 
elegans (carmine), while the edging is Camellia leaves 
over-laid by sprays of fern. Handled baskets we deem 
out of place for parlor ornaments, having doubtless 
been originally designed to carry ; the handle invariably 




Fig 50.— HAND-BOUQUET ^IN FASHION 1867). 

interferes with the general effect, and can only be 
tolerated when beautifully trimmed with flowers and fine 
greens. For parlor decorations, high stands, with or 
without branches, small, pendant baskets, or hanging 
baskets of flowers, or of plants with rich flower sprays 
hung around them, are frequently used to advantage. 
Balls of flowers, like hanging baskets, are best displayed 
from the centre of an arch or folding doors, and with 
festoons of flowers looped from centre to sides the effect 
is greatly heightened. Festoons of Smilax or other greens, 
suspended chain-like from the top of a plain chandelier 



CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS, ETC. 



223 



to each light, with festoons of flowers from the center 
underneath to the same points, make one of the gayest of 
floral decorations. Wreaths of flowers or of bright green 
leaves, or of both, around circular or oval framed pic- 
tures, may be used on especial occasions to advantage. 
A ball, or hanging bouquet, loosely arranged, suspended 
clear, in front of a high mirror and with rich festoons 
of flowers from the same point, looped to each side, 
makes a splendid display. 

The circle must be taken as the line of beauty in all 
bouquet making, apart from those loosely arranged. 




Fig. 51.— HAND-BOUQUET (IN FASHION 1887). 

Whether it is a table or hand bouquet, or basket, there 
must be a certain rounding of outlines in the segment of a 
circle. Hand bouquets admit of the most formal arrange- 
ment of flowers, and the tendency of all cultivated tastes 
in this direction must be admitted as proof that for this 
purpose something more than a mere bunch of flowers is 
required. The American, French, or English lady never 
figures, even in a book of fashion, in evening dress, hold- 
ing a bunch of flowers, or any odd shaped bouquet. 
Crude forms, pyramids, balls, etc., can never supersede 
the slightly rounding bouquet (fig. 50), winch is likely 



224 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

to continue for all time the true form, like the parasol, 
which might have been its prototype. [The bouquet 
shown is constructed in the formal style, and with the 
flowers then most prized ; its width is probably a foot of 
rounded diameter; the ground work is a dozen white 
Camellias, each surrounded by blue Violets, the further 
filling being of Lily-of-the- Valley, and scarlet and white 
Fuchsias. — P.H.] Ball bouquets would be handsome 
enough but for the handles, which completely destroy 
the line of beauty. As for those abortions of the same 
form pointed with Rose-buds, they are only fitted to con- 
vey to moderns an idea of the ancient weapon of war 
that was swung by a chain or thong, and which Sir 
Walter Scott describes the Baron of Smailholm as 
carrying : 

" At his saddle girth hung a good steel spertlie, 
Full ten pounds weiglit and more." 

After form, the most important point in bouquet 
making is the arrangement of colors. The incongruous 
mixing of these in a great measure destroys the effect of 
the finest flowers, while the more delicately the coloring 
is blended and the more strikingly contrasted, the more 
perfect and pleasing is the result. Let any one who 
doubts this compare a bouquet of the best flowers, in 
which many colors arc freely used, with one made of pink, 
shading delicately from the centre to blush and white, 
or vice versa, and with a few tiny points of bright scarlet 
or violet tastefully set amidst the white. 

The arrangement of colors in simple geometrical forms 
is greatly preferable to a succession of distinct rings in a 
bouquet. The ribbon pattern is very pretty in a llower 
bed, but in very questionable taste in bouquet making. [It 
will be seen that Mr. Park's taste, in defiance of the 
fashion then greatly prevalent, revolted against the 
formal system now obsolete. — P. H.] A bordering of 
white, blue, or pink, may be generally used with good 



CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS, ETC. 225 

effect. Handsome leaves of the Geranium or Camellia 
(the latter is preferable for its brightness and durability) 
alternating with fine sprays of green, delicate flower 
scapes, or spikelets of heat lis, or Lily-of-the- Valley, form 
a fitting edging for a hand bouquet. A fine hand bou- 
quet may be made with smooth outline and relieved by 
delicate points of green or fine leaves. In filling out a 
hand bouquet, half-dried moss is preferable to bouquet 

. ■> 

\ li 








/y« 



Fig. 52.— CORSAGE BOUQUET. 

green, as it can he used more readily to keep the flowers 
apart without so much increase of weight and stem ; a 
light backing of green, concave underneath, finishes the 
bouquet. White Jute-string ribbon, wound around the 
handle and tied in a bow, is preferable to tinfoil. 

Judging the merits of bouquets, etc., has always been 
a very difficult point amongst gardeners and florists, nor 
is this to be wondered at when exhibitors and judges 
have each their own notions of excellence, various as the 
men themselves. It is only by comparison that the 



22t> PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

merits of any article can be well judged ; and the best 
connoisseurs of arranged flowers are not to be found 
amongst gardeners, who have few opportunities of com- 
paring such things, but amongst the lovers of flowers, 
the men and women of cultivated tastes who, having 
leisure and means, find pleasure in studying their merits, 
and thus set up for themselves a higher standard of 
excellence. An unskilled person set to judge a collec- 
tion of Pansy flowers would probably not arrive at the 
same conclusions as one who judged the same flowers by 
the standard rules, which hold the circle, the thick and 
smooth petal, the sharply defined eye and the distinct divi- 
sion of colors, as the only true marks of perfection. A 
hand bouquet may have its colors inlaid like mosaic with 
very good effect, and if the coloring be well toned and 
contrasted, such a bouquet made with skill, like prize 
Pansies, would compel any one who saw it to admire it, 
although many would object to it as stiff and unnatural, 
which it certainly is, but it is also a handsome bouquet 
nevertheless. 

There are some flowers the colors of which repel all 
close communication with others ; such are the purple, 
ruddy purple and most of the striped carnations, all 
Roses with even a tinge of purple (and this includes 
most of the hardy Roses, as well as others), in fact, there 
is scarcely any shade of purple which can be used to 
advantage in bouquet making. Excepting blue like that 
of the Violet, there is scarcely any shade of blue, even, 
which can be advantageously used in a closely-arranged 
bouquet ; and the Violet, beautiful though it be, is a very 
ineffective flower by gaslight. Still more so is the favorite 
Heliotrope. Many shades of yellow are harsh, yet some 
may be used with good effect in bouquets, particularly 
when toned with blue. For example, the racemes of 
Acacia pubescens, either in bud or blossom, as a border- 
ing fringe are exceedingly beautiful and put to shame 



CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS. ETC. 237 

that over-fastidious taste which rejects all yellow flowers. 
[Fashion now gives preference to yellow flowers over all 
other colors. — P.H.] Even established rules on colors 
fail to guide us always in the arrangement of flowers. 
Artists tell us that blue and green should never come to- 
gether, yet the Violet can have no more beautiful setting 
than its own green leaves, while dark blue flowers show- 
to equal advantage in their darker green foliage. In 
Nature's own setting, all flowers are becoming ; it is only 
by placing them at a disadvantage that they can ever 
appear otherwise ; but so infinite are their shades and 
forms that their perfect arrangement in bouquets must 
ever be a work of taste and skill. We would not assert 
that bouquet makers, like poets, " are born, not made," 
yet we know that many in this, as in other callings, are 
and ever will be, utterly unfitted for the work they 
undertake. 

Funeral flowers are now a very important part of the 
florist's trade. Ten years ago, ten dollars' worth of 
flowers were more rare at a funeral in New York than 
one hundred now, and sometimes one funeral demands a 
thousand dollars' worth. The wreath and crescent- 
wreath are undoubtedly the best forms for this purpose, 
and the cross is a favorite and beautiful emblem. An 
upright cross of flowers, solid on all sides, with a base of 
the same, is a very striking object, but unless well and 
richly made, were better left alone. Anchors, crowns, 
baskets and bouquets are all used for the same purpose. 
In any of these forms, the slightly rounding surface is 
the best ; that is to say, the flowers in the wreath, cross, 
etc., must neither be flat nor to highly rounded. [Funeral 
flowers are less used now than when this was written, 
owing probably to the fact that some dozen years ago it 
was carried to such an excess as to be a heavy tax on the 
poorer friends of the family in affliction. But the turn- 
ing point in the tide of fashion was when one of New 



228 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



York's biggest millionaires was dying, lie requested that 
no flowers should deck his bier. Then the toadies to 
wealth — the flunkies of fashion — took the cue, and there 




Fit-'. 53. — FUNERAL DESIGN OF 1887. 



was for years a standing protest against funeral flowers 
from the fashionable world. But the fiat was not suffi- 
cient to stop all use of flowers to deck the dead, for the 
"common people" revolted. The hearts of sympathiz- 



CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS, ETC. 229 

ing friends could find no better way to express their 
feelings of veneration than by sending to those they have 
loved and respected a few flowers as a last tribute of 
remembrance. — P. H.] 

It has ever been a matter of wonder to the workers in 
flowers how such a preponderance of white is required. 
Most of them have not realized (although often practis- 
ing it) that the most beautiful colored bouquets have 
always a large proportion of white in their composi- 
tion. When we consider that white flowers are used, in 
quantity at least, equally with flowers of all colors collec- 
tively, and add to this the large amount of white flowers 
used alone for funerals, weddings, church offerings, etc., 
we may more readily conceive how important the raising of 
white flowers is to all flower growers. We believe it is 
safe to affirm that no one in the flower business fairly dis- 
covered this necessity, until the vastly increasing demand 
for flowers in late years forced it upon his attention, 
and compelled him to the production of white flowers as 
the most important part of his business. [White flowers 
are no longer exclusively used in funeral pieces ; sub- 
dued colored flowers, mixed with white, are now as often 
used as those entirely white. — P. H.] 

Bouquet making is no longer a paltry business ; the 
trade in flowers, in New York at least, has fairly out- 
grown that of flowering plants, and when so much of 
this work is required, and when that which is well 
done is so much more valuable, it becomes worthy of 
more study and attention. 

Many people have little idea of the value set upon' 
flowers by some of their fellow mortals. In New York, 
during winter, twenty-five cents is a common price for a 
handsome rose-bud [Many of the finest buds, such as 
American Beauty, Paul Neron, Magna Charta, and 
Baroness Rothschild are retailed at one dollar each from 
December 1st to February 1st ; only a few years ago they 



230 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

sold for one -third more, but the greater quantity now 
grown has lessened the price. — P. H.], the same per dozen 
for Violets, while Camellias vary from one dollar each, 
when scarce, to twenty-five cents when plentiful. At 
Christmas and New Year's, 1866, Camellia flowers were 
frequently sold for two to three dollars each. [Now Camel- 
lias have no sale at all as individual flowers to be retailed, 
and sell very slowly at from five to ten dollars per hundred, 
to be used in mixing in large pieces. — P. H.] The price 
of hand bouquets varies from fifty cents upwards. What 
florists call good hand bouquets sell at about five dollars, 
extra fine from five to ten ; occasionally they bring still 
higher figures. This writer has sold not a few at fifteen, 
and, on rare occasions, has received twenty dollars for a 
hand bouquet ; and that from men who knew well the 
usual prices of flowers. To give the uninitiated some 
idea how these things arc used, we may mention having 
seen a belle at an evening party in New York, carrying a 
bouquet in each hand, while three others were strung 
from each arm as trophies of her prowess among the 
simpler, if not the softer, sex. Of course this display 
could not last long ; the very weight of her attractions 
would speedily compel her to surrender, for, be it remem- 
bered, those eight bouquets certainly contained about 
sixty Camellias alone. We have known rich and fashion- 
able belles even more favored than this, and have heard 
of one having fifteen splendid hand bouquets sent for one 
occasion. We have never, however, heard of another 
showing such muscular prowess in their display. Baskets 
of flowers commonly sell for five to twenty -five dollars, 
stands from fifteen to fifty, extra large stands from fifty 
to a hundred. [B.-iskets of Orchid flowers are now 
coming into use, and of course, from their rarity and 
the expense necessary to produce them, the price can 
only be within the means of the wealthy. It is safe to 
say that a basket, costing ten dollars in Roses or other 



CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS, ETC. 231 

Bowers, when filled with rarer Orchid (lower.-, bo pay bhe 
grower would need bo sell for one hundred dollar.-. — P.H. ) 
Bouquets for refreshment and dinnertables range from five 
to fifty dollars each ; we have ourselves made one at one 
hundred. The prices of wreaths, crosses, etc., vary from 
five to twenty or thirty dollars ; from five to fifteen is a 
common range. On one occasion a New York florist is 
said to have supplied three thousand dollars' worth of 
flowers for a private entertainment, but two or three 
hundred is more common, and esteemed a very good 
order. 

A business which in New York alone amounts to 
hundreds of thousands of dollars annually [It now 
reaches millions. — P. II.] will soon assert its own posi- 
tion, ami it is for those engaged in it to make or mar it, 
a- they conduct it more or less respectably. As Ameri- 
cans a- ..-i i red 1 y pay heiter prices for their bouquets than 
any other people, let, the florist see to if that they get the 
finest and best arranged flowers. 

We must apologize to the genera] reader for the minute 
description and the technical terms used in detailing the 
modus operandi of construction, hut it is necessary to 
be thus particular to he properly understood by such as 
are interested in the subject. So many flowers have 
short or unmanageable stems, or grow so close to buds 
which the grower cannot afford to cut, that artificial 
stems must be largely used. Even where stems are 
available, the bouquet maker, in all good work, prefers 
having another added to hold the flower in position, 
the strength of the stem being proportioned to the weight, 
of the flower it bears. Thick stems must he avoided, 
else the bouquet handle becomes clumsy, — a very objec- 
tionable feature, as amateurs speedily discover, particu- 
larly when using flowers on their own stems. The stems 
commonly used are of broom-corn or straw matting, cut 
in lengths as desire 1, from four to eight inches. With 



232 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



this and hair wire cut to three inches, the "stemmer" 
goes to work. By a rapid twist one end of the wire is 
fastened on the straw, and the flower is attached by a 
whirl of the stem between finger and thumb, as in 
figure 54. Stemming is a large part 
of the labor of bouquet making, and 
rather distasteful to the amateur. One 
bouquet maker requires two stem- 
mers, and a very prosy business it 
soon becomes to both, and vastly less 
interesting than the growing of flowers. 
Strong spool cotton or shoe thread is 
used for tying up the flowers. Camellia 
stems being entirely unavailable, a wire 
the thickness of a pin is passed through 
the calyx of the flower, the ends being 
twisted together. It is then stemmed 
on a light, dried willow (wooden tooth- 
picks are also much used for stems), 
which admits of bending to the required 
position. Flowers thus stemmed have 
sufficient moss wound under the flower to prevent its 
outer petals being at all compressed, when set in the 
bouquet. Without some such provision it is impossible, 
either to attain the rounding outline of the bouquet, or 
to display the flowers in perfection. 

With flowers prepared, let us take a Camellia [In the 
method of construction to-day, for Camellias, large Rose- 
buds are used. — P.H.] for the center of our bouquet, tie 
it securely to the bouquet stem (a piece of kite stick or 
stiff twig), and wind moss around it, as already described, 
to keep the flower from outer pressure, the moss running 
to a point about two inches below the flower. Six yellow 
Tea Rose-buds are now set at regular intervals around and 
on a line with the outer petals of the Camellia, and the 
spaces between these each filled with a small piece of 




Fie. C4. 



CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS, ETC. 



233 



white Enpatorium, a very small Geranium leaf or point 
of delicate green being set by each bud. A little moss is 
wound lightly, close under the flowers, to prevent crowd- 
ing, a pink Carnation set behind each Rose-bud, with 
Tuberoses between, a speck of Eupatorium being in- 
serted under the edge of each Tuberose, to fill out. Six 
white Camellias of equal size and form, stemmed as 
described, are now set at regular intervals around, par- 
ticular care being taken to form with the face of these 
flowers the correct outline of the bouquet, and their 







Fl'if. 55. — WIRING THE CAMELLIA. 

stems tightly bound to prevent working out of place. 
Between the Camellias on the inner side, another Tube- 
rose is set, filled out with a speck of Stevia under each 
side ; more moss is added, and a bright speck of crimson' 
Bouv&rdia forms the sole dividing line between the 
centers of the Camellias — which nearly touch each other. 
A yellow Tea Rose-bud follows, with a Violet set in Sweet 
Alyssum on one side and a small Geranium leaf in the same 
on the other ; a white Carnation is set behind each bud, 
with a speck of Bouvardia in Eupatorium on each side. 
A light border of Stevia is now set around the whole, 
and with Camellia leaves of equal form stemmed on 
willows, and projected nearly half their length, the bou- 



234 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

quet is finished. The handle is trimmed with bouquet 
green, or fine leaves of any evergreen. The handle is cut 
to about three inches, and being a hand bouquet, is 
wrapped with tin-foil, wound over, and neatly tied above 
with a bow of white taffeta ribbon. 

The outline of the bouquet must be carefully kept as 
the work proceeds, and sufficient moss from time to time 
packed lightly in front and immediately under the 
flowers. By this means the weight of the structure is 
borne by the stems, the flowers being only allowed to 
touch each other. Moss not only serves well to keep the 
flowers apart, but acts as a sponge when the bouquet is 
set in water, giving moisture to flowers with the shortest 
stems ; and bouquets thus made are more durable than 
the casual observer — who gazes regretfully on the be- 
headed flowers — is apt to imagine. When, in addition to 
the moss, a piece of wet cotton is stemmed to every 
flower (as the writer has all good work done), the natural 
stem is not unkindly superseded. The maker must work 
with a tight thread, to prevent the flowers getting out 
of place, and keep a clean surface on the handle. Another 
method of bouquet making is to tie a ball of moss rather 
loosely on the bouquet stick and insert the flowers (which 
are stemmed to suit the work), drawing them down to 
the desired position, and tying as the work proceeds. 

Vase bouquets are made similarly, with more green 
"backing" between and around the flowers, for loose 
arrangement and to support the greater weight. Flower 
baskets are lined with tinfoil, or, if not likely to show 
after filling, any tough paper will serve the purpose ; 
they are then filled with sawdust, rounding above, 
damped and covered with wet moss ; a border of arbor- 
vitae, bouquet, or other greens, is set around to support 
the over-hanging flowers. The flowers, stemmed on 
twigs, are now inserted according to the taste of the 
worker, with moss packed between them as the work 



CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS, ETC. 235 

proceeds. Baskets thus filled and sprinkled with water 
keep well, but the more common method is to ir.sert 
bouquet green (Lycopoclium) over the whole surface, and 
arrange the flowers therein without any moss packing. 
Wreaths are commonly made on a stout wire, which has 
straw matting wound upon it, to enable the thread to 
hold ; a backing of green is laid for the flowers as the 
work proceeds. Both green and flowers must be wound 
on with points projecting to each side, the stems crossing 
like the letter X. If laid straight along, the flowers are 
huddled together, and the arrangement seems thick- 
backed and clumsy. When the desired length is attained 
the ends are firmly tied, and flowers and green together 
are pressed round on the wire, and by this means turned 
to face as required ; a bow of white silk bonnet string 
finishes the wreath. Crosses are made on two pieces of 
thin wood ; the three upper points being made, the 
cross-stick is then tacked and tied in its place, the center 
filled, and so wound to the bottom. Like wreaths, these 
may be finished with or without a bow of ribbon. Wire 
frames have entirely superseded the old methods of wind- 
ing flowers to sticks and wires. These are made from 
half to three quarters of an inch in depth — that is with 
raised edges — and painted green, the breadth varying with 
the circumference. The frame gives the florist at once 
the desired form, and makes it easy for any person of 
taste to arrange flowers in the shape of an anchor, star, 
etc., etc. The frame is filled with damp moss, wound 
slightly to keep it in place, and the flowers, stemmed on 
short twigs, are inserted in the moss. 

As has already been said, this chapter was written in 
1808, by Mr. Park, who had the rare combination of 
being a clear and terse writer, as well as a practical 
florist. But little can be added to the chapter, the 
ground has been gone over so thoroughly, except to 
show briefly the changes in style that have taken place. 



236 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 




Pig, 56.— DESIGNS IN STRAW ANT> WILLOW FOR FLORAL WORK 



CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS, ETC. S37 

The fashion in flowers and the mode of constructing 
designs now varies considerably, and I will endeavor to 
state wherein that difference now mainly exists. Since 
the rage for Roses began a dozen years ago, it is safe to 
say that nine-tenths of the whole bulk of flowers used are 
Roses. These are largely used in making up bouquets, 
baskets, and all kinds of floral ornaments for the table, 
and in a majority these are made exclusively of Roses ; 
while corsage bouquets (little else is used in winter) often 
contain as many as two dozen Roses of one color. At 
present in the fall and early winter months the Chrys- 
anthemums are jprhaps used to a greater extent than 
any other flower. In the months of November and 
December nearly every other well dressed lady to be met 
with on the fashionable streets of New York, is found 
wearing a corsage bouquet of Chrysanthemums, and 
from their great range of color, almost every shade of 
dress can be matched except blue. 

All Roses now are used with long stems ; in fact since 
the use of loose bunches of flowers has come in vogue, 
replacing to a great extent the formal bouquets and 
baskets, flowers of nearly all kinds that can be cut with 
long stems are so gathered. One of the present fashions 
of using flowers for decorating rooms is to select colors 
of flowers to match the furniture ; thus if the furniture 
is pink, the flowers used are as far as possible of that 
color ; if of orange or yellow, flowers of yellowish tints are 
used ; if of crimson, the flowers as near to that color as 
possible are employed, and so on. 

A beautiful style of wreath for funeral work is formed 
from the pressed leaves of the Imperial Silver-tree (Lcu- 
codendron argenteum), which many of the enterprising 
florists are now importing. The leaves when pressed and 
dried glisten like silver, and form a most graceful circlet 
or wreath. There have been some attempts made, I 
believe, to grow the plant here, but as its leaves are valu- 



238 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



POCKET. 



2§lprall§pss<i 



DOUBLl -STAND. 



HIGH OVAL. 



LOW OVAL 



• » s ^ 

c 'I ,t O SHI P 

HIGH ROUND HANDEL£0 



LOW OVAL HANSELED 



WREATH AND. HEART 






Faith, Hope & Char 







PiUow with Crown. Standing- Anchor 



Fig. 57.— DESIGNS IN WILLOW AND WIRE FOR FLORAL WORK. 



CONSTRUCTION OF BOUQUETS, ETC. 239 

able only when pressed and dried, it seems, if it is to 
come into general use, the cheaper way would be to still 
import the leaves in that state from Italy, where it is 
hardy enough to stand in the open air. The leaves of 
the Sago Palm, Cyras revoluta, are used largely for 
funeral work in all large cities, when they can be obtained. 
Designs of every imaginable description are now made 
of flowers — shields, rainbows, canopies (under which the 
marriage ceremony is performed), etc. Mr. Wm. C. 
"Wilson, the well known florist of New York, informed 
me that he has received ^000 for the floral canopy sup- 
plied for the marriage of the daughter of one of New 
York's best known citizens, and the flowers used in the 
decoration of rooms in all footed up $5,000. These are 
rare occasions, however, though 1500 and $1,000 are not 
unusual. The flowers for the balls of the Americus Club 
of New York in Tweed's palmy days often cost $G,000 for 
a single night. 

DESIGNS IN STRAW, WILLOW AND WIRE FOR FLORAL 
WORK. 

Most elaborate and beautiful designs for floral work 
are offered in straw, willow, and wire. Figures 56 and 
57 show a few of the designs at present most in use, but 
new designs are being now offered each season, so that to 
keep pace with everything brought out, reference must 
be had to the catalogues of those making a business of 
such work. 

Directions have already been given how to fill the 
wire designs in the preceding pages ; the same will 
apply, with slight modifications that will be suggested to 
the operator while constructing, in the straw and willow 
designs. 



240 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

CHAPTER XLIV. 
HANGING BASKETS. 

It is only of late years that the taste for hanging 
baskets has become so universal. The taste has extended 
to every town and hamlet throughout the land. The 
baskets are made either of wire-work, earthenware, or 
of rough and gnarled roots or limbs, to form "rustic" 
work. The wire and rustic baskets are the kinds in 
most general use. 

Only certain kinds of plants are suitable for hanging 
baskets ; such as are of low compact growth to cover the 
surface, and such as are of drooping or trailing habit, to 
hang over the sides. For a basket of one foot in diameter 
we name the following as suitable : 

For center plants, either Dracena terminalis, D. 
draco, D. indivisa or the " Screw Pine " Pandanus 
utilis. 

Coleus Verschaffeltii, well-known bronze foliage plant. 

Coleus Golden Gem, clear yellow folinge plant. 

Coleus Firebrand. 

Centaurea Candida, a plant with white, downy leaves, 
of compact growth. 

Geranium, semi-double scarlet, or somi-double rose. 

Sedum Sieooldii, a plant with light glaucous leaves 
and graceful habit, which is not only desirable on 
account of its foliage alone, but for its purplish rose 
colored flowers. 

These arc suitable for the upper surface of the 
basket. Those prop2r to plant near the edge of the 
basket are : 

Lobelia Erinus Paxtoni, blue, drooping eighteen 
inches. 

Tropatolum, Ball of Fire, dazzling scarlet, drooping 
two feet. 



HANGING BASKETS. 241 

Lysimachia nummularia, bright yellow, drooping 
two feet. 

Linaria cymbdlaria, small flowers, graceful foliage, 
drooping three feet. 

For a basket of two feet in diameter the below-named 
make a fine display. For the center plants the same as 
for the smaller basket : 

Geranium, Mrs. Pollock, foliage crimson, yellow and 
green : flowers, bright scarlet. 

Alyssvm dentatum variegatum, foliage, green and 
white, with fragrant flowers of pure white. 

Alternantliera paronycUioides major, leaves of pink 
and crimson. 

Pyrcthrum, Golden Feather, fern-like foliage, golden 
yellow. 

For the drooping plants the following, which fall from 
two to three feet. 

Maurandia Barclay ina, white or pnrple flowers. 

Vinca elegantissima aurca, foliage deep green, netted 
with golden yellow ; flowers deep bine. 

Cerastium tomentosum, foliage downy white ; flowers 
white. 

Convolvulus Mauritanicus, flowers light blue, profuse. 

Sulanum jasminoides variegatum, foliage variegated ; 
flowers white, with yellow anthers. 

Geranium peltaium elegans, a variety of the Ivy-leaved, 
Avith rich, glossy foliage, and beautiful mauve-colored 
flowers. 

Panicum variegatum, a procumbent grass from New 
Caledonia, of graceful habit of growth, with beautiful 
variegated foliage, striped white, carmine, and green. 
One of the most valuable plants for baskets or vases. 

Although a few plants have been named as being 
suitable for hanging baskets, there is nothing arbitrary 
about using particular kinds ; it is a matter of taste in a 
great measure as to what kinds are used, though as a 



242 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

rule, it is best to use some graceful plant for the center, 
such as those already named. 

In setting the plants in the hanging baskets, a layer 
of moss at least one inch in depth should be spread over 
the bottom and sides, so that the water may be held and 
prevented from washing through. 

A very good plan to water hanging baskets where 
there are many of them, is to dip the whole basket in 
water i Lit is thoroughly soaked ; thus drenched it will 
stand quite as long as when watered in the usual way. 

To have the plants bloom freely, they should be hung 
where they will be exposed to the sun at least two or 
three hours each day, and in dry weather copiously 
watered daily. If the surface of the basket between the 
plants is covered with moss, it will prevent the earth from 
drying out so soon, and will give a neater appearance to 
the basket, The soil used to plant in may he that suit- 
able for potting ordinary plants, as described under the 
head of soils 



CHAPTER XLV. 
PARLOR OR WINDOW GARDENING. 

To be successful in growing plants in the window of 
the parlor or sitting-room, it is of the first importance to 
begin with plants that are in a healthy state. 

Experienced florists, with all their appliances for suc- 
cessful culture, often fail to bring health to a sickly 
subject. How, then, can amateurs, without experience, 
hope to recupei-ate the weakened energies of some petted 
plant in the less congenial atmosphere of an ordinary 
dwelling-house ? I well know the usual practice of our 
lady friends in this matter, In purchasing their supply 



PARLOR OR WINDOW GARDENING. 24.3 

of bedding plants from the florist in May, all are taken 
from the pots and planted in flower beds, to decorate the 
borders for the summer months. By the lirst appear- 
ance of frost in October, the plants of Bouvardias, Car- 
nations, Fuchsias, Geraniums, Heliotropes, Roses, etc., 
etc., that were such tiny slips when planted out in May, 
are now, many of them, large plants, and in all their 
glory of bloom ; but Jack Frost shall not have them, 
they must be saved. Pots are sent for, soil of the most 
approved brand is procured from some florist high in the 
art, the plants are lifted up with all care and placed in 
the pots. Our amateur friend is in raptures ; as yet 
they look just as green and flourishing as when growing 
in the garden. But a day passes, and although they 
have been shaded and watered with all care, the plants 
somehow begin to show symptoms of collapse. The 
Geranium leaves, that looked so green and well, are now 
flabby. The Rose-buds, that held up their heads with 
such pride, now look abashed and hang down. 

This state of affairs continues ; from the leaves being 
simply wilted they begin to get yellow and shrivel up ; 
by ten days many of the plants have died outright, and 
the remainder are in a sad looking condition, that is dis- 
heartening to the owner. 

No other result than this will ever be obtained with 
plants treated in this manner. When florists wish to lift 
plants of this nature in fall, two-thirds of the shoots 
are usually cut off, and the plants put through a course 
of treatment to induce them to strike new roots, that is 
hardly ever in the power of the amateur to apply ; but 
even though we succeed in saving the plants, it is almost 
always at the expense of the bloom, for few plants can 
be lifted in bloom in October from the open ground, and 
continue to blossom through the winter. Now, having 
pointed out the errors. I will show the way to succeed in 
obtaining healthy plants that will grow and bloom freely 



244 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

in winter, provided they are supplied with the necessary 
moisture and heat. All plants that are intended for 
house plants in winter, when set oat in May, should be 
first planted in pots six or seven inches in diameter. 
These pots should ba planted, or, as we term it, 
"plunged" to the rim, or level with the surface ; thus 
they are almost in the same condition as if they had been 
planted without the pot, only the roots are confined 
inside of the pot, so that when the plant is lifted in fall 
there is no mutilation of the roots, as must always be the 
case when the plant is put in the open ground without 
the pot, as then the roots ramify in all directions. One 
caution, however, is necessary : the hole in the bottom 
of the pot must be effectually stopped up so that the 
roots cannot strike through, or the pot should be turned 
two or three times during the summer, so as to break off 
the roots as they strike through the bottom. If this is 
not done, nearly the same difficulty will be experienced 
as if they had not been put in the pots. But if proper 
attention has been given to this, plants of every descrip- 
tion that are suitable for winter will be in a fine state by 
the time of taking up — in this district, the 1st of Octo- 
ber, as by this time there is danger of frost. 

The following list comprises those plants most suit- 
able for window culture, and such as are most easily 
managed and least expensive. 

Abutilons, 

Calla (Biohardia), 

Carnations — monthly sorts, 

Cyclamens, 

Chryanthemums, 

Chinese Primroses, 

Fuchsias, 

Hyacinths and other Bulbs (Sea Bulb Culture), 

Geraniums, Variegated, Zonale, Scented and Ivy- 
leaved. 



PARLOR OR WINDOW GARDENING. 245 

Heliotropes, 

Mahernias, 

Pelargoniums, 

Koses — Tea, Bourbon, and Bengal, 

Solanums, 

SU'vias, 

Camellias, Azaleas, etc., etc. 

All of these will flower and grow freely in a green- 
house temperature, or at an average of not more than 
fifty degrees at night, with fifteen or twenty degrees 
higher during the day. 

We add another limited list of plants requiring a high- 
er temperature, eome of them being in other respects 
more difficult of culture, besides being more expensive : 
Allamandas, Begonias, 

Bouvardias of all sorts, Euphorbias, 
Coleus of all sorts, Poinsettias, 

Stephanotis, Ruellia formosa, 

Salvias, etc., etc. 

All of the above will luxuriate best in a humid atmos- 
phere, at an average of not less than sixty degrees at 
night, with lifteen or twenty degrees higher during the 
day. The best aspect for growing plants from October 
to April is due south. For the intermediate season east 
is preferable. Watering is a very important operation, 
but a little experience with plants, and ordinary care in 
observing will soon show when this is required. A good 
deal depends upon tiie condition of the plant ; if in 
vigorous growth there is but little danger of giving it too 
much. On the other hand, if the plant has been cut 
back or lost its leaves, water should be given sparingly. 
For example, you may take a vigorous growing apple or 
pear tree, and saw off its limbs to the trunk in mid- 
summer ; if its roots are kept saturated with moisture it 
will die, but if kept dry it will shortly again develop 
branches and leaves. This example teaches us a lesson 



246 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

in more artiflcial culture, that in proportion to the vigor 
of the subject should its food be supplied. The practice 
of placing the pots in saucers filled with water is destruc- 
tive to the health of most plants, as, of course, so long as 
the water remains in the saucers, the soil is absorbing it 
and the roots of the plant are saturated ; it is well 
enough to use the saucers to prevent the soil from wash- 
ing through, but the water should be applied at the sur- 
face of the pot, and what little will pass through into 
the saucer will do no harm. Another source of annoy- 
ance to those growing plants in rooms is the various 
insects that attack them. The most common and 
injurious of these is the Aphis or Green-fly. In our green- 
houses we keep this little pest in check by continued 
fumigation with. tobacco, but as this would not be prac- 
ticable in rooms, recourse must be had to immersing the 
plant in tobacco water, made of a strength having about 
the color of strong tea. By dipping the plant in this 
once in two weeks, or, when the plants are large, syring- 
ing them with it, Aphides will never be seen. The Red 
Spider and thrips are not so easily got rid of, but fortu- 
nately they are not so common or injurious, unless in a 
very high temperature and dry atmosphere. The only 
way of arresting them is syringing or immersing as for 
Green-fly. For more particulars see chapter on Insects. 
There are no special soils necessary for the amateur to 
trouble himself about in cultivating parlor flowers. For 
our opinions on this head see chapter on soils. Neither 
should he tamper with guano or other fertilizers ; equal- 
ization of temperature and moisture will secure the end 
desired. 

WINDOW-GARDENING IN LONDON — COTTAGE GARDENS. 

One of the most refreshing sights to an American 
arriving in London during the summer months is the 
wonderful diversity and beauty of the flowers cultivated 



PARLOR AND WINDOW GARDENING. 247 

in the windows and balconies of the houses. In some of 
the best streets, hardly a house can be seen that is not so 
adorned, and even the most squalid abodes of vice and 
poverty are often relieved by a miniature flower-garden on 
the window-sill. The most common style is the window- 
box, made to lit the window, usually from four to five 
feet long, and about six to eight inches wide and deep. 
It is made of every conceivable pattern, of terra-cotta, 
cork, and rustic design in endless variety. The plants 
used are not very numerous in variety, being selected of 
kinds suited to keep in bloom or to sustain their bright- 
ness of foliage. Now and then the ribbon-line planting 
is adopted on the balconies ; a very handsome box in 
this style had first a row of Moneywort (Lysimachia 
nummular ia), which formed a drooping curtain of four 
feet in length ; half-way down on it drooped blue Lo- 
belia ; then upon the Lobelia fell a bright yellow Sedum 
(Stone-crop), then against the Sedum, for the top-line or 
background, a dwarf Zonale Geranium, a perfect blaze 
of scarlet. Hardly two of these window decorations were 
alike in the best streets, and varied from a simple box of 
Mignonette or Sweet Alyssum to cases filled with the 
rarest Ferns or Orchids. The effect as a whole is most 
pleasing, and one that cannot fail to strike the most 
indifferent observer as an agreeable change from the 
seemingly never ending brick and stone of the city. The 
window-gardening is not confined to private dwellings, 
but all the leading hotels are so decorated. In the dining- 
room of the Langham Hotel, a favorite resort of 
Americans, some hundreds of well-grown specimens of 
plants are placed in the windows, and kept in perfect 
order during the entire summer. The selection of plants 
is made regardless of expense, and in looking around the 
dining-hall it is with some difficulty that you decide if 
you are not dining in the midst of a vast conservatory, 
so redolent is the air with the perfume of flowers. The 



248 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

same taste for window-gardening- is displayed, more or 
less, in all the English towns and villages, and even the 
humblest thatched cottage of the peasant by the wayside 
is given a look of quiet happiness by the bower of flowers 
in the window. How different the look of those humble 
homes, where the occupant is receiving barely four dollars 
per week, from the squalid shanties in the suburbs of our 
great cities in America, where the " naturalized " 
American citizen is often earning three times that 
amount ! Grand effects may be produced in our climate 
by the use of climbing vines as window plants, which can 
be trained outside in summer on wire or strings. Nota- 
ble among these are : Gobma scandens, Ipomcea noctilv- 
ca, or Moon-flower, Maurandias, purple and white, and 
Lopkospermvms ; for inside, the Climbing Fern, Smilax, 
or Climbing Asparagus. 

Hero let me deviate from my text, but to a kindred 
subject, and tell how the English cottager works his 
garden in some of the old towns, such as Colchester. 
To each cottage, renting for about fifty dollars per year, 
is attached a garden of something more than an eighth 
part of an acre in extent. In this little spot the tenant 
contrives to grow four to six kinds of vegetables, such as 
potatoes, cabbages, peas, turnips, etc., and of fruits, 
gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and strawberries. 
Every foot is made to produce something, and rarely a 
weed was seen in some scores that we saw ranged side by 
side. The heavy work is done by the man of the house, 
" before or after hours," in his own time. In the weed- 
ing and hoeing he is assisted by wife or children. There 
is great rivalry among the different owners of these 
cot rage gardens, and in many place- liberal prizes are 
given by the horticultural societies to those that are 
best cultivated. 

Prizes are also offered for the best window-grown 
plants, and in Hull ami some other towns, plants are 



PARLOR AND WINDOW GARDENING. 249 

distributed gratis and printed instructions given for cul- 
ture, to encourage the taste. 

There may be, however, a reason for the neglect of 
their gardens by the mechanics and laboring classes here. 
There is no question that at the time when the bulk of 
the work should be done, in the hot summer weather, 
the laborer has greater need of rest here after his 
day's work is over than in the cooler climate of Eng- 
land ; moreover, there is longer daylight in England in 
summer, all of which, together with greater necessity for 
thrift, may be the reasons why the English cottager's 
garden is so much superior to that of the same class 
in the United States. 

"WARDIAN CASES, FERNERIES, ETC. 

The Wardian Case is usually made with black walnut 
base lined with zinc, in depth about six inches, and about 
two feet square on the sides; but it is made of various 
sizes. The covering is a glass ease, made usually 
eighteen inches high ; the top or lid, also of glass, is 
made movable, so that ventilation is provided, and 
undue moisture allowed to escape. The plants grown in 
Wardian cases are such as are selected for their beauty of 
foliage lather than for their flowers, plants whose 
natural habitat, is shady woods ; such as Ferns, Lycopo- 
diums, Dracenas, Caladiums, Marantas, etc., etc. The 
soil used in such a case may be light peat or leaf-mould ; 
nothing of a stiff or heavy nature of soil should be 
used. The case may be kept in any ordinary sitting- 
room, near the window, but not exposed to the direct 
sunlight. There is no trouble whatever in management ; 
one moderate watering when the case is filled will keep 
it without further attention for six weeks, except an 
occasional ventilation when moisture lies heavy on the 
glass. In winter the temperature of the room may run 
from fifty to sixty degrees at night. The culture of 



250 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

Ferns or Lycopocls requires somewhat similar conditions 
as are found in the Wardian case when not grown in it ; 
they cannot be successfully grown unless in partial shade 
in a close, moist atmosphere. Hence it is useless to 
attempt the cultivation of such in the dry atmosphere 
of an ordinary sitting-room, unless they are enclosed in 
cases. The florist can easily adapt his greenhouse to the 
proper conditions when required, but the amateur must 
secure these by means of a closed case of some kind. 
For single specimens or a few ferns and the like, a glass 
shade with a proper base of metal or earthenware is fre- 
quently used, and is very ornamental. Ferneries of this 
kind are sold at the principal horticultural and seed 
stores. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

FORMATION OF ROCK-AVORK, AND PLANTS FOR 
ROCKS. 

This feature of pleasure ground decoration is generally 
necessitated by circumstances ; if the ground which has 
to be chosen for that purpose is naturally stony, it often 
becomes the cheapest way to get rid of the stones, group- 
ing them so that they become ornamental. They may 
often thus be used to advantage in forming breaks or 
screens, to hide the flower garden from the vegetable or 
fruit garden ; in this way they are laid up in rugged 
walls, the interstices filled with soil and covered with 
hardy perennial plants. Locations where rocks exist in 
their natural condition can often be made highly 
interesting and ornamental by setting out plants of a 
climbing habit to run up them, or a drooping or trailing 
habit to overhang them. Among those suitable for the 



FORMATION OF KOCK-WOKK. 251 

purpose of climbing are the now popular species of Vir- 
ginia creepers, Ampelopsis quinquefolia, A. Veitchii, 
and A. Iioyallii. The latter two are particularly valu- 
able for climbing on rocks, and are now becoming much 
used by the principal railroad companies, not only to 
ornament but to " lace up " shaley rocks through which 
cuts are made. We sold a few years ago, to one of our 
leading railroad companies in one season five thousand 
plants of Ampelopsis Veitchii, which now in many 
places have attained a height of thirty feet, giving 
to slipping rocks not only great support, but covering 
them with glittering green leaves in the summer and 
tinting them in autumn with crimson and gold. 

For drooping and the general covering of rocks the 
following list will be found useful : 

Achilleas, of creeping growth, Sempervivums, of all kinds, 

Campanulas, of creeping growth, Linnsea borealis, 

Crucianella stylosa, Lychnis graudiflora, 

Cerastium tomentosum, Lysimachia nummularia, 

Phloxes, of creeping growth, Orobus vernus, 

Polemoniuni reptans, Soldauella alpina, 

PaxiCragas, Vinca major variegata, 

Sedums, of all kinds, Thymuswulgaris variegata, 
Violas of sorts. 

All these are hardy. 

Artificial rock-works are often formed thus : The shape 
aud dimensions of the work being determined on, the 
clinkers from furnaces are collected, and dipped in hot 
lime wash, which gives a coloring of pure white to their 
fantastic shapes. With these the " rock-work " mound 
is formed of the height" and shape desired, leaving at 
suitable distances cavities of six or eight inches deep, to 
be filled with soil in which to place the creeping plants. 
For this kind of rock-work a different class of plants is 
more appropriate, — such as are of bright colors and will 
contrast with the ground work of white. Scarlet or 
other high-colored Verbenas, Coleus, Gazanias, Scarlet 



\.'.V» PRACTICAL FLOKICULTUKE. 

Geraniums, Blue Lobelias, Lysimachia, or Golden Money- 
wort, may be used with excellent effect. By the use of 
hydraulic cement instead of lime, the rock-work can be 
made of a pleasing drab color. A rockery so formed and 
planted, ■without having any pretensions to being " nat- 
ural," is always an interesting and attractive object on a 
well-kept lawn. 



CHAPTER XLVII. 
ARE PLANTS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH? 

Even yet, with all the light of experience on the sub- 
ject, if physicians are asked if plants kept in rooms are in- 
jurious to health, three out of six will reply that they are. 

They will generally follow up the reply by a learned 
disquisition on horticultural chemistry; will tell you that 
at night plants give out carbonic acid, which is poisonous 
to animal life, and consequently if we sleep in a room 
where plants are kept, we of necessity inhale this gas, 
and sickness will follow. These wort bit's generally suc- 
ceed in their specious reasoning, and the poor plants, 
that have bloomed gaily all summer, are often consigned 
to the coal cellar for their winter's quarters, if given 
quarters at all. No theory can be more destitute of 
truth ; that plants give out carbonic acid may be, but 
that it is given out in quantities sufficient to affect our 
health in the slightest degree is utter nonsense. 

No healthier class of men can be found than green- 
house operators, which makes me sometimes think that 
plants have a health-giving effect rather than otherwise. 
But doctors may tell us that our workmen arc only at 



ARK PLANTS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH ? 25'4 

work- in the day-time, and that it is at night that the 
carbonic acid is emitted. Here we meet them by the 
information that in mosf cases the gardener in charge of 
greenhouses often bus to be up the greater part of the 
nighl in winter, and the greenhouse from its warmth, 
is universally taken as lii.s sitting-room, and sometimes 
as his bed-room ; such was my own experience for three 
winters. I had charge of a large amount of glass, 
situated nearly a mile from my boarding-house, too far 
to go ami conic at midnight, with the thermometer 
below zero. Our means of heating were entirely inade- 
quate, so that the fires had to he looked to every three 
or four hours. Disregarding all my kind-hearted em- 
ployer's admonitions. I nightly slept on the floor of the 
hot-house, which was rank with tropical growth. The 
floor was just the place to inhale i\\c gas, if there had 
been much to inhale. It did not hurt me, however, and 
has not yet, and that is now nearly forty years ago. 
That plants are injurious to health in sleeping rooms is 
one of the bugbear assertions that is willingly swallowed 
by the gullible portion of the community, always ready to 
as sign effects to some tangible cause, and this, as the asser- 
tion evinces some chemical lore, is very prevalent among 
those disciples of Esculapius who are always willing to he 
thought learned in the science so intimately connected 
with their profession. 



254 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

CHAPTER X L V I I I . 

THE INJURY TO PLANTS BY FORCING. 

Under the head of Carnations I referred to a disease 
which was very destructive among many of the older 
varieties of monthly Carnations, or Pinks, which we 
have been forcing for the last twenty years. I assumed 
that the trouble was in consequence of this excessive 
forcing, which had so lessened the vitality of the plants, 
that disease followed whenever the conditions were 
slightly unfavorable, such as too wet or too dry a soil. 
Since then, our observations have shown that nearly all 
the varieties of Roses in use for forcing for winter flowers 
are similarly affected. About the first of May one 
season I planted out in the open ground young plants, 
that had been propagated in January, of Safrano, 
Bon Silene, Douglas, Marechal Niel, and four other 
varieties, which had been used for forcing during 
the winter. At the same time we planted out young 
plants made from cuttings of over thirty varieties 
of other Tea Roses, that had been grown during winter 
in a cold house, without being forced. The plants of 
both lots were all seemingly in a fine healthy condition; 
but about July 1st, we found that the forced varieties 
had not only made a much weaker growth than the 
others, but probably twenty per cent, died outright. In 
a conversation on this subject with Mr. Miller, the well- 
known florist and landscape gardener of Germantown, 
Pa., he cited the case of a nurseryman in England, who 
sent out the Dahlia, " Beauty of Hastings"; the first year 
it was exhibited from the seedling plant, it was found to 
be so entirely double, as to have what is known as a 
"hard center." It has been freely exhibited, and being 
the finest of its class at that time, orders for hundreds 



THE INJURY TO PLANTS BY FORCING. 255 

of plants were consequently received for it. To obtain 
the plants to rill the orders from the limited stock, it 
was forced in a temperature unusually high ; other cut- 
tings were taken from the cuttings already struck, so 
that a dozen roots were made to produce nearly 3,000 
plants. When these plants came into flower, instead of 
producing the fine form and double variety that had 
been exhibited, nearly all produced semi-double flowers. 
This brought a storm on the head of the unfortunate nur- 
seryman, who was charged with sending out a spurious 
variety, and he had not only to refund the money which 
he had received for the plants, but was seriously injured 
in his business standing. That semi-double flowers were 
produced in consequence of lessened vitality, was shown 
by the fact that these self-same roots produced in the 
succeeding year and afterwards, double flowers like the 
original, and for many years the " Beauty of Hastings " 
was known as a standard sort. Again, we remember 
that in the day of the grape-vine fever, the "Delaware," 
and some other varieties, by being propagated in a high 
temperature and from the young shoots year after year, 
became so weakened, as to hardly be recognized as the 
original variety. Plants of Rhubarb, after they have 
been forced, are usually thrown away as useless, and 
Hyacinths, Tulips, Lily of the Valley, and nearly all 
other roots and bulbs used in forcing take years to recu- 
perate in the open ground after they have been once 
made to bloom in the hot-house. This is so well known 
among florists, that nearly all throw away the bulbs that 
have been forced in winter. If we consider that this 
treatment of the natives of temperate latitudes is in 
direct violation of their natural condition, we will not 
wonder that they rebel against the abuse. Carnations, 
Roses, Grapes, and bulbs of nearly all kinds, are hardy, 
or nearly so, in northern latitudes, and their nature 
requires a rest of three or four months. Our forcing 



256 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

system, now so universally adopted to produce the 
flowers of the Carnation and Rose in winter, subject 
them to a treatment similar to that proper for tropical 
plants ; and this continued violation of their natural 
requirements of culture, results in the evil alluded to. I 
never like to refer to any disease or other trouble among 
plants, without being able to suggest a remedy. In the 
Carnation we would advise that, instead of propagat- 
ing them as usual from cuttings made in spring, from 
plants that have been forced all winter, that cuttings 
bo taken at the time plants are lifted in fall ; after they 
are rooted, the young plants may be kept in a cold 
green-house or frame during winter. The same plan 
might be adopted with the Roses forced in winter, if the 
plants are wanted for summer flowering in the open 
ground. I know it is not always convenient to do so, 
but when it is, I think it will be found a good method to 
maintain the vitality of the stock. This is now our own 
method and our stock both of Roses and Carnations have 
been much benefited since we adopted it. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

NATURE'S LAW OF COLORS. 

It has long been a belief among students in vegetable 
physiology, that, in certain families of plants, particular 
colors prevail, and that in no single instance can we ever 
expect to see blue, yelloto, and scarlet colors in varieties 
of the same species; yet, undeviating as this law seems 
to be, it is astonishing to see the credulity that there is, 
even among intelligent horticulturists, some of whom 
believe that we will yet have exceptions to this law, 
which, as far as all our experience has gone, seems as an- 



nature's law of colors. 257 

alterable as the law of gravitation. If we reflect, we will 
find there is nothing out of the usual order of nature in 
this uniformity. The coloring given to the plumage of 
birds is as unalterable as that given to the petals of a 
flower in particular families. The most enthusiastic 
poultry fancier will look in vain for the scarlet plumage 
of the Flamingo in his Dorkings or Brahmas, or the 
color of the Baltimore Oriole in the occupants of his 
pigeon-house. What more reason, then, has the florist 
to expect that Nature should deviate from her fixed 
course, and gladden his eye with a Rose or Dahlia of an 
azure hue, or that a Verbena or a Petunia should be pro- 
duced of a golden shade ? 

A knowledge of this subject is much needed by our 
amateur horticulturists, who are imposed upon year 
after year by itinerant dealers, who with flaming colored 
drawings of these impossibilities in floriculture extract 
largely from the pockets of their victims, and in addition 
expose them to the ridicule of their less credulous or 
more cautious neighbors. The audacity of these scamps 
is truly astonishing ; not a season passes but some of 
them have the impudence to plant themselves right in 
the business centres of the city of New York, and 
hundreds of our sharp business men have for the con- 
sideration of four or five dollars, believed themselves in 
the possession of veritable blue Roses. Need I say that 
they were no less humbugged than the rustic who falls 
into the hands of a mock auctioneer, and chuckles to 
think that he has become the possessor of a gold watch 
for a similar price ? 

In Rand's " Flowers for the Parlor and Garden," page 
101, in remarking on the colors of the Verbena, he says 
a good yellow Verbena has not yet been produced, but 
goes on to say that he, " by a curious process of watering 
and fertilization with a white Verbena, obtained a seed- 
ling which proved on blooming to be of a light straw color; 



258 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

but the plant was weakly and sickly, and died before 
cuttings could be taken." This " weakly " and " sickly " 
condition was exactly why Mr. Rand obtained his straw 
color ; had the plant been in health it, no doubt, would 
have been only an impure Avhite. 

There are few" florists of any experience who have not 
raised hundreds of just such " straw colors " in Verbenas 
from white, that have been weak and sickly, for we all 
know that the want of vitality in the plant imparts a 
jaundiced hue to white flowers. 

It is hardly fair in Mr. Rand to withhold from us what 
that " curious process of watering and fertilization " was, 
by which he succeeded in bringing into existence what 
De Candolle, Lindley, and Loudon, have said can never 
be. When a man writes a book for the information of 
the public, nothing should be held in reserve; his readers 
have a right to every "secret" he may possess connected 
with the subject, and this reservation of Mr. Rand in so 
very interesting a matter is tantalizing in the extreme. 
Who knows but if he had given us the modus operandi 
of his "curious process of watering and fertilization" 
our Verbena beds would have long since had a golden 
yellow flaunting side by side with scarlet and blue, or 
that the same " curious process of watering and fertiliza- 
tion " applied to the Rose, would have produced a color 
rivalling a blue-bird in April ? 

It is much to be regretted that Mr. Rand's yellow Ver- 
bena was lost, but we trust that the " curious process " 
by which it was produced is not among the lost arts. 
If an application of it can be made to produce a positively 
yellow Verbena, the gentleman will receive the honors of 
the whole horticultural world, and, if he chooses, can 
pocket some thousands of dollars. 

Not only are blue, yellow and scarlet colors never found 
in varieties of the same species, but so far even pure 
yellow or pure scarlet is never found, nor ever likely to be 



WHAT FLOWEKS WILL GBOW IN THE SHADE ? 259 

found in certain families of plants. For exainpl \ 
although we have grand crimson shades in the Rose, 
there is yet no approach to scarlet as seen in Salvia 
splendens (Scarlet Sage), nor any yellow in the Geranium 
at all approaching to the yellow of the yellow Calceolaria. 
But there are yet some of our best florists, who watch, 
year after year, the seedlings they raise; with the hope — 
vain I much doubt — that their eyes will be regaled with 
the vision of a scarlet Rose or a yellow Geranium. The 
alchemists of old, in their endeavors to turn the baser 
metals into gold, by their experiments greatly benefited 
the science of chemistry. So do these sanguine florists 
benefit horticulture by producing improved varieties, 
though they are likely never to attain the object of their 
solicitude. 



CHAPTER L. 
WHAT FLOWERS WILL GROW IN THE SHADE ? 

The question "What flowers will grow in the shade ?" 
is put to me every spring by scores of city people, whose 
little patch which they wish to devote to flowers is so 
walled up by neighboring houses, that the direct rays 
of the sun never touch it. But few plants will develop 
their flowers there, and none will do it so well as if it were 
lighted up by sunshine a part of the day. Fuchsias, 
Pansies, Forget-me-nots, Violets, Lobelias, Lily-of-tho- 
Valley, Hollyhocks, Phloxes, and other herbaceous plants 
whose native habitat is a shady wood, will do best, but 
even these languish if denied all direct sunlight. . The 
best effect in such situations is produced by ornamental- 
leaved plants, the beauty of which is not dependent 



260 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

upon their flowers. Among these may be ranked the 
Gold and Silver Variegated-leaved Geraniums, Achyran- 
thes, Alternantheras, Begonias, Caladiums, Centaureas, 
Coleuses, etc., which, if planted so as to bring the 
various shades in contrast, produce a pleasing effect, 
which continues during the entire summer months, and 
is not surpassed by any display of flowers. 

The cultivators of flowers in rooms should understand 
the necessity of sunlight to plants that are to flower, and 
endeavor to get these as close as possible to a window 
having an eastern or southern aspect. The higher the 
temperature the more plants suffer from want of light. 
Many plants might remain semi-dormant, in a temper- 
ature of forty degrees, in a cellar for example, away 
from direct light, for months, without material injury, 
while if the cellar contained a furnace keeping a temper- 
ature of seventy degrees, they would all die ; such would 
particularly be the case with plants of a half-hardy 
nature, such as monthly Roses, Carnations, Fuchsias, 
Geraniums, etc. 

In our greenhouse culture of flowers, direct sunlight 
is an all-important consideration ; and a spell of sunless 
weather in midwinter is often a loss to us of hundreds of 
dollars by preventing the development of flowers. Hence, 
Ave use every means at command to dispose the plants to 
secure the greatest amount of light. 

The debilitating effects of want of direct light on 
plants are well illustrated by taking a vigorous plant in 
full foliage and flower, that has been growing in the 
direct light of our greenhouse benches, and placing it 
under the bench. If the temperature is high, say seventy 
degrees, in forty-eight hours, the sickly signs, showing 
want of light, will be apparent to an experienced eye ; in 
a week its condition would be such as to indicate sick- 
ness to the most common observer, and in a month it 
would most likely be dead. 



WHAT FLOWERS WILL GROW IN THE SHADE? 2G1 

In this respect there is some analogy between plant 
and animal lii'e, and it teaches ns the importance of light 
for our own healthy development. Certain it is that our 
greenhouse and garden operatives will compare favor- 
ably with any other class of workmen, so far as health is 
concerned. In the past thirty years I have had an aver- 
age of fifty workmen daily. During that time but three 
have died, and six only have been seriously sick, and 
some three or four veterans who are growing grey in the 
service, have never lost an hour by sickness. I doubt if 
it would be easy to find the same number of workmen 
employed out of the sunlight, who could show such 
health as these sun-browned boys of ours. 



CHAPTER LI. 

SUCCESSION CROPS IN THE GREENHOUSE. 

Whether the Florist's business is carried on in a small 
way or on the most extensive scale, to make it profitable 
it is essential to have the green-house benches filled as 
often as practicable with succession crops; simply taking 
one crop off the benches will result at the present rate of 
prices in very meagre profits indeed. In my own prac- 
tice, we have for many years taken never less than two 
crops off of every foot of bench space, and in many of 
our houses three, and in some particular families of plants 
such as Coleus, Verbenas and Heliotropes, as many as 
six crops are taken off of every foot of space. 

To get more than two crops one must have an order 
business, which runs over five or six months of the sea- 
son, but even a florist who has only a local retail plant 
trade or the open market to sell in should always be able 
to use every foot of his green-house space twice. In 
most towns the sales of plants whether in market or 



2Qa practical floriculture. 

locally, begin in April and extend to June, a period of 
eight or ten weeks. As soon as the greenhouse space 
gets emptied towards the end of April or first weeks 
in May, succession crops from seedlings or cuttings 
should be on hand to be potted and shifted on so that 
the green-house benches may be as full by the middle or 
end of May, as they were in the middle of April, so that 
the season may be lengthened with salable stock to the 
middle of June. Of course to do this extra labor must 
be had at the proj^er time. This is not always to be ob- 
tained at the time needed, but it is always profitable to 
pay employees for over time at that busy season of the 
year. Every season from April to June, we have from 
fifteen to twenty of our best men working by lamp-light 
until ten or eleven o'clock, which is equal to adding seven 
or eight effective hands to our force, which could not be 
procured at the busy season of the year. Our men al- 
ways go at such work willingly, as every hour they work 
after six o'clock is paid for as over time, which any firm 
well established in business on a paying basis can well af- 
ford and should do, but beginners with only two or three 
men, — struggling to make ends meet — may reasonably ex- 
pect to have their hands help them in emergency without 
extra pay for over time, particularly if they are men who 
are kept th roughout the entire year. Where the florist be- 
ginning has only his own hands to rely on, if he wants to 
make the business a success, he had better make up his 
mind to " burn the midnight oil " for at least three or 
four months in the spring. For the first fifteen years I 
was in business, I think it safe to say that either in the 
office, green-house or grounds, 1 averaged sixteen hours 
per day throughout the entire year. Such work will 
never hurt a healthy man, because it is certain to bring 
success if judiciously employed, and success, other things 
being equal, we all know conduces to happiness and health 
in a far greater degree than its opposite. 



PACKING PLANTS. 2G3 

CHAPTER LII. 

PACKING PLANTS. 

As commercial floriculture is now becoming a matter of 
importance, it will be interesting for many to know the 
modes of packing for shipment. During February, March, 
April, and May last (1887), it is estimated that twenty 
tons each day were received at the different express offices 
in New York, of the products of the greenhouse only. 
These were to be distributed throughout the length and 
breadth of the land, shipments being now successfully 
made in all weather to the most extreme points in every 
direction. The system of packing adopted for even the 
most distant orders is of the simplest kind, differing en- 
tirely from that of the English or French, and is a result, 
like many other of our operations, of the necessities forced 
upon us by the higher price of labor. By the system of 
packing in our own establishment, we ship plants every 
day from January 15th to June loth, throughout the cold- 
est weather in winter, and the sultry days of summer, with 
hardly a case of injury, either from freezing or by heat. 
For the cold season we use close boxes, lining top, bottom 
and sides with thick paper, against that, as the best non- 
conductor we can find, we put two inches of sawdust 
on top, bottom, and sides of the box. Whenever the 
ball of roots is sufficiently firm, the plant is taken from 
the pot, and each plant wrapped in paper, or rather the 
ball or root of the plant is wrapped, leaving most of the 
top uncovered. This wrapping in paper not only serves 
to keep the ball from breaking, but it also, to some ex- 
tent, prevents the pressure of the plants upon each 
other. In packing the plants in a box, they are placed 
compactly in layers, alternated with an inch or two of 
soft hay, or the new packing material "Excelsior," until 
the box is full. The utmost care is necessary to pack the 



2G4 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

box entirely full, so that no movement can take place in 
the plants should the boxes he roughly handled. The 
soil should be always rather dry than otherwise, as 
packed in this close manner the plants will not suffer for 
want of moisture. Boxes of medium size are best; we 
never like to use a box of greater capacity than the or- 
dinary flour barrel, usually preferring such as are one- 
third smaller than that. If the box is too large, the 
plants may be injured by mutual pressure. 

This is our method of packing as long as there is dan- 
ger of frost, or until the middle of March. From the 
middle of March to the middle of April, we use a box of 
a different character, open on all sides to admit air, for 
now the danger to be avoided is from heat and not from 
cold. The manner of packing is in all other respects the 
same, except that no more hay or "Excelsior," is used 
around the inside of the box than necessary to make a 
soft bed for the plants. If the closely packed plants 
have any tendency to generate heat, it will be counter- 
acted by the admission of air through the openings in the 
box. Again, we gradually make a change in our style of 
packing to suit the advancing season. For small orders, a 
light kind of chip basket is used, in which the plants are 
packed in the manner above described, and strapped over 
the top with hay or "Excelsior." We find a basket a most 
convenient and satisfactory article to pack in, as its open- 
work sides freely admit the air. In baskets weighing 
less than two pounds, we pack from 100 to 150 plants. 
Being annoyed at having frequently to pay for clumsy, 
heavy packages, in "which our new importations were re- 
ceived from England, I took occasion to send over to a 
London nurseryman some fifty plants packed in one of 
these baskets, the whole basket and contents weighing 
about 15 lbs., and with two exceptions every plant was 
received alive. I implored the gentleman to pack the 
plants he was to send me in return in similar light has- 



PLANTS BY MAIL. 205 

kets, as it would not only save freight but, what was far 
more important, save me the plants alive. He sent 
them in baskets, sure enough, each one weighing of itself 
40 lbs., — a sbapeless, ponderous affair, tlmt with its con- 
tents required two men to lift it into a wagon. This 
was not the worst of it ; three-fourths of the plants were 
dead — our usual experience in shipments of plants from 
Europe. This loss is, without doubt, in most cases oc- 
casioned by the cumbrous maimer of packing. 

When the weather becomes settled, so that all danger 
of plants being chilled is over, we change our mode of 
packing the plants, from laying them down, to standing 
them upright in the baskets or boxes, beginning with the 
heaviest plants at the bottom of the box or basket, and 
placing each succeeding layer, to the depth of three or 
four, one ball of roots on the top of the other. After 
packing, the box or basket is watered freely, each plant, 
or at least a portion of it, is exposed to the light, and 
thus packed they will remain ten or twelve days without 
injury. 



CHAPTER LIII. 

PLANTS BY MAIL. 

Our postal laws permit plants, seeds, and bulbs, to be 
sent at a cost of 10 cents per pound, provided the pack- 
age does not exceed four pounds in weight. This ar- 
rangement has been the means of sending seeds and 
plants into regions where they would not for many years 
have been procurable with other means of conveyance, 
and the projector of the idea deserves the gratitude of 
the nation for it. A number of different contrivances 
have been invented for packing plants to go by mail, in- 
cluding boxes of various styles and dimensions ; the 
main difficulty with all that we have seen is the weight. 



2G6 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

Plants may be packed without using boxes at all by adopt- 
ing the following method. Having selected the plants, 
choosing such as are small but well rooted, the soil is 
washed or shaken from each plant, leaving the fibres of 
the roots uninjured. A layer of moderately damp moss 
half an inch thick is then spread on two or three thick- 
nesses of thick brown paper ; the plants are then laid on 
the moss, a similar layer of moss is laid over the roots, 
and the paper, moss, and plants, are tightly rolled up. 
The moss absorbs the water from the drijming roots, so 
that thus tightly enclosed, sufficient moisture is envelop- 
ed in the packages to keep the plants safe for a week, 
provided that the package has been firmly wrapped up. 
Another wrapping of oil silk paper follows — the final 
wrapping being of stiff brown paper. This process is so 
simple that any lady may transmit to another some favor- 
ite plant or cutting, a distance of 2,000 miles, if neces- 
sary, at little cost. The florists who make a special busi- 
ness of mailing plants now use a box specially made for 
the purpose, alternating the filling of the box with thin 
layers of moss— not too damp — with the layers of plants. 
Where moss is not procurable, raw cotton will answer the 
same purpose; the only danger to be avoided is in rolling 
up the package too loosely, in which case the dry air will 
penetrate and will be likely to shrivel up the plants. 

Although it is a great convenience to be able to send 
plants by mail to points where there is no express office, 
yet we most emphatically protest against sending in this 
way wherever they can be sent by express. Not only is 
sending by a mail a slow and expensive method of pack- 
ing, but the necessity to lighten the package, compels 
the soil to be taken from the roots and to compress the 
plants in the package so that they are often crushed to 
their injury. We, in our business, never send a plant 
by mail where it can be sent by express, unless at distinct 
request of the buyer. 



INSECTS AND DISEASES AFFECTING PLANTS. 267 

CHAPTEK LIV. 
INSECTS AND DISEASES AFFECTING PLANTS. 

There is no subject referred to in this volume, that I 
feel so incompetent to discuss as that of insects. Not 
that our experience with the pests has not been ample 
enough, but all the knowledge obtained from that expe- 
rience leaves us at times utterly helpless to prevent their 
ravages, particularly on plants grown out of doors. Un- 
der glass, we may say that they are entirely under control, 
and I have always considered that no better evidence of 
the incompetency or negligence of the person in charge 
of the greenhouse could be had, than to see the plants 
covered with insects. 

The most annoying of all insects of the flower garden, 
is the 

Rose Slu£, Sehoidria rosw, a light green, translucent 
little fellow, varying from one-sixteenth of an inch to 
nearly an inch in length. There are evidently two species 
or varieties, one of which confines its ravages to the lower 
side of the leaf; the other eats it entire. The first is by 
far the most destructive here. In a few days after the 
plants are attacked they appear as if they had been 
burned. 

The best remedy we have found, is a preventive one, 
which, in fact, ought to be used against all insect life. 
Before the leaves of the roses appear, just as soon as the 
buds begin to develop, apply Whale-oil Soap, in the pro- 
portion of one pound to ten gallons of water; this, 
steadily applied for ten clays, with a syringe or garden 
engine, has, in my experience, entirely prevented the at- 
tacks of the insect. But once let it get a foothold and it 
can hardly be driven off by this application, unless it be 
made strong enough to injure the foliage, making the 



268 PEACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

remedy worse than the disease. A safe remedy when the 
insect has made an attack on the leaves, is to dust pow- 
dered White Hellebore or Pyrethrum over the leaves in the 
morning, when the dew is on; or if no dew, first wet the 
leaves by syringing, and then apply the powder. The 
species of Rose Slug that eats the entire leaf seems to 
confine its depredations more to young plants, and later 
in the season. We have found it quite troublesome in 
June and July among our young roses, which had been 
planted out in May and June, and as these were young and 
tender plants, the Whale-oil Soap remedy could not safely 
be applied, and it would hardly be practicable to apply the 
Pyrethrum or the Hellebore; so we have often had acres 
of young roses covered by myriads of these slugs, before 
they were observed, and nothing could be done except to 
shake the plants, and kill the insects when they fell to the 
ground. In the summer of 1S66, we had some nine or ten 
boys shaking the plants and killing the slugs for upwards 
of a week, and by this means saved our crop of roses. 
In 18G8 we had a whole army of volunteer exterminators, 
in the thousands of English Sparrows that had been 
imported some years previous, and which we yet feed and 
house with the greatest care during winter. AVe observed 
immense flocks of them actively engaged for days in pick- 
ing up something in our rose beds, and had imagined it 
to be seeds obtained from the refuse hops, that we had 
used as a mulching. At times we felt inclined to believe 
that they would pick the tender leaves of the rose, to use 
by way of a salad, having always believed them to be 
strictly " vegetarians," or seed eaters. Finding, however, 
that we were less troubled with the Rose Slug that season 
than usual, it occurred to me that perhaps we were in- 
debted to our noisy, feathered friends for the immunity. 
To test the matter, a victim was necessary; accordingly 
a plethoric looking fellow was shot, when, sure enough, 
his well-stuffed crop revealed seeds, Rose Slugs, and 



INSECTS AND DISEASES AFFECTING PLANTS. 269 

Aphis, or Green Fly, in great abundance, demonstrating 
beyond all question the great value of these birds as insect 
destroyers. 

The Rose Bug (Macrodactylis subspinous), or Rose 
Chafer, as it is sometimes called, is so named from its 
attacking the buds or blossoms of the rose, in preference 
to anything else, although it is destructive to many other 
plants, particularly to the Dahlia, the flower of which it 
devours rapidly. All the ordinary remedies seem to fall 
harmlessly on the Rose Bug, and if not destroyed by 
hand its ravages cannot be stopped, unless our feathered 
friends come to the rescue; whether they will be equally 
efficacious in destroying the Rose Bug, I am unable to 
say, although I am inclined to think they will. We have 
never yet been much troubled with them here, and so far 
have not had the opportunity of knowing whether the 
Sparrows feed on them or not. 

The Rose Bug, {Aramigus FulJerii,) the larvaof which 
is so destructive to the roots of roses grown under glass in 
winter, has no resemblance whatever to either the Rose 
Slug or the Rose Chafer, but is vastly worse than either 
of these in its ravages. The perfect insect (that is not 
unlike the Curculio, which deposits its eggs in the fruit 
of the Plum tree) does little injury to the Roses, merely 
biting little circular pieces out of edges of the leaves, but 
it is by this cutting of the leaves that their presence is 
first known, as the insect, though larger than a common 
house fly, is not easily seen from its habit of keeping 
under the leaves or close to the stems of the plant. So 
far all efforts to destroy this pest have proved futile, ex- 
cept to pick off the fully developed bug from the plants, 
and so prevent it depositing its eggs at the roots of the 
Roses. These eggs quickly hatch into grubs, resembling 
meat maggots, which at once begin to feed on the roots, 
and thus quickly destroy the plants. Once a rose bed gets 



270 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

badly infested, there is as yet no known remedy. Noth- 
ing can be done but throw the plants out and the soil 
also, if Roses are again to be planted in the same house. 

The first time I saw this Eose Bug was in 1872. I no- 
ticed that our Roses, though otherwise healthy, made no 
growth. A friend coming along one day, who had sad 
experience with the insect, asked me to allow him to pull 
a plant up. At its roots hung scores of the maggots — the 
larvae of the Rose bug. I at once threw out the whole — 
the plants, the soil, and even the bench itself, though the 
space it covered was ten feet by three hundred, contain- 
ing nearly three thousand Roses. Fortunately its ravages 
were confined to that house, so I at once adopted the plan 
of paying our boys a dollar a hundred for what bugs they 
could find, working at their dinner hour. This soon sub- 
dued them, so that for years we have been free from the 
Rose bug, the greatest pest that the Rose grower has to 
fight against, particularly if he grows his Roses on the 
benches for two years. 

The Aphis is one of the most common insects affecting 
plants. There are quite a number of kinds, showing dif- 
ferent colors, on different plants. Thus, when it attacks 
the roots of plants, it is blue; on Roses and most other 
plants it is, green; on the chrysanthemum and a few other 
plants it is black. 

Hundreds of my amateur friends come to me year after 
year, with sorrowful tales of their verbenas, asters, etc., 
which were pictures of health and beauty, but now are 
one after another sickening and dying, apparently with- 
out cause. But there was a cause, and in most cases one 
cause only. The Blue Aphis is at the roots, and the only 
chance to save them is an application of tobacco water, 
about the color of strong tea, applied copiously and per- 
sistently to the roots, for at least a week. 

We have occasionally saved all our stock by this remedy, 
when used at once, as soon as they were seen to be affected. 



INSECTS AND DISEASES AFFECTING PLANTS. 271 

Many species of plants are attacked by this insect at the 
root. Asters, particularly, are much injured by it. In 
fact, when in excess, there is hardly a species of plant 
exempt from its attacks. We have often seen this Aphis 
clustering by thousands on the roots of melons, cucum- 
bers, and of beets, to the very points of the roots, a foot 
below the surface. 

The Green Fly (or Green Aphis) is prevented, (for I 
contend that it should never be seen, so that it need be 
destroyed), by fumigating with tobacco smoke, not less 
than twice each week. We do it in a manner much more 
simple and agreeable to the operator than is often prac- 
ticed. Two or three times each week during the entire 
season at which our green-houses are filled with plants, 
we use a small handful of shavings, on top of which we 
place about half a pound of tobacco stems, previously 
made damp. The shavings are lighted, and the fire be- 
ing on the 'cement flooring, is left to take care of itself. 
If the floor, however, is of wood, provision should be 
made against danger from fire. We use this quantity of 
tobacco to every five hundred square feet of glass; we 
burn thus five or six tons of tobacco stems every season, 
but we rarely see a green fly. We have occasionally seen 
this insect increase to such an extent in its different con- 
ditions, that fumigation was powerless to destroy it, or 
rather it would have required it to be applied so strong, 
to dislodge the vast number of the enemy, that the plants 
would have been injured. The safer way to treat a des- 
perate case of this kind is to brush the insect off by hand, 
or with a soft brush; this is a slow process, but an effec- 
tual one. This condition of the plants can only be the 
result of utter neglect. The green fly sometimes injures 
plants which stand too near together, so that the leaves 
get matted so closely that the fumes of the tobacco can- 
not penetrate. This is a condition, where recourse must 
be had to brushing the insects from the leaves, and, if 



272 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

possible, spreading the plants so that the air can pass 
freely among them. 

All Rose growers in winter now find that the best way 
to prevent the green fly is to strew tobacco stems under 
the benches or paths, two or three inches thick, renewing 
them every three or four weeks. Although the odor is 
hardly perceptible from the tobacco, yet it has the effect 
of entirely suppressing the Aphis. Of course, this plan 
would be equally effectual in destroying the insect on all 
kinds of plants, but is somewhat more expensive than 
smoking, and the reason of using it in the Rose houses is 
that the smoke injures the buds. 

Another method, equally effective in destroying the 
Aphis, is to syringe the plants and then dust them over 
with tobacco dust. Still another, is to steep the stems 
until the water gets to be of the color of strong tea, and 
syringe it on the plants. These last two remedies are 
really the only ones that can be applied when the 
Aphis attacks plants out of doors, either method is effec- 
tive against the black Aphis, Avhich attacks the chrysan- 
themum as well as against the common green Aphis. 

The Red Spider is rather a more insidious enemy than 
the Green Fly, and far more tenacious of life, and often 
does much mischief before its presence has become known. 
The experienced gardener, of course, should not only be 
able to detect its presence, but also to discover the at- 
mosphere favorable to its production. A dry and hot 
atmosphere, so dry that few plants can long continue in 
health in it, is such as this pest delights to revel in. Such 
an atmosphere in hothouse or greenhouse is thus doubly 
hurtful to plant life, and therefore should never be al- 
lowed. The remedies are simple; if there is not time for 
syringing, let water be thrown copiously on the paths, 
under and on the benches, place pans filled with water on 
the flue or pipes, or use any other means that may sug- 
gest itself, to counteract the aridity of the air, due to 



INSECTS AND DISEASES AFFECTING PLANTS. 273 

heavy firing in winter, or hot, dry days in spring or sum- 
mer. Therefore, as in the case of the Green Fly, if proper 
preventives arc used, the Bed Spider need never be seen 
in the greenhouse. 

The red spider is an exceedingly minute insect, so 
small that it is a mere speck when seen by the naked eye, 
• but when closely examined, may be seen moving with 
great rapidity. Though minute in themselves the pres- 
ence of these insects may be quickly detected, by the 
upper side of the leaves becoming browned, though the 
ravages are confined to the under side of the leaf. Par- 
lor plants are often subject to this insect, as it is not 
convenient to give the necessary moisture, and the only 
remedy in such cases, if the collection is not too numer- 
ous, is sponging the leaves. Florists who have a suf- 
ficient force of water, have but little trouble with the 
Red Spider, as forcibly applied daily it quickly destroys 
them. In the absence of city water, the force pump or 
hand syringe must be used. 

We often have woeful complaints from inexperienced 
cultivators, that their plants all get brown and look 
sickly, and it requires but little thinking to divine what 
enemy is making the attack. 

The aphis, from its size, is quickly seen, and means 
may be used at once to destroy it, but this minute red 
pest may be sapping the life of a plant for weeks before 
it is discovered. Amateur cultivators generally expect 
to see something more tangible in a spider, if they have 
heard of the red dragon at all, and are often hard to 
convince, that this minute insect is the cause of so much 
disaster. 

I will relate a rather ludicrous incident, to show that 
some even of larger experience may become possessed of 
that notion. 

Many years ago I had in my employment an active 
young Irishman, who, by showing more than ordinary 



274 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

energy, quickly passed through the different grades, un- 
til he was duly installed as foreman ; at that time we 
had been firing a Camellia house, and by neglect of keep- 
ing a properly moist atmosphere, the red spider had made 
sad inroads. John was duly instructed to syringe the 
plants, night and morning, to destroy it, which he did ; 
no doubt with a double object in view, as the sequel will 
show. John was on all occasions rather demonstrative, 
but one morning he came rushing towards me, his face 
radiant with triumph, with his hat off, but clasped in 
his hands, in a careful manner, evidently having some- 
thing of no common value within it. Before I had time 
to inquire what was the cause of his excitement, he 
yelled out " I've got him! bedad! I've got him at last!" 
"What have you got," I enquired, expecting to see 
something in the way of a rat or mouse. " Arrah, the 
big devil himself, the blaggard that has been doin' us all 
the mischief, the Real Sphider !" and opening his hat, a 
villainous Tarantula-looking fellow ran out, bigger than 
a thousand red spiders, which was quickly despatched by 
John's brogan. From that time John learned to know 
what the red spider was, but was never anxious to allude 
to it afterwards. 

The Verbena Mite, the minute cause of the "black 
rust" so disastrous in its ravages on the Verbena, Helio- 
trope, Petunia, Pelargonium, and various other plants, is 
so small that it cannot be seen by the naked eye ; but its 
ravages under certain conditions are so disastrous as to 
render the cultivation of the Verbena and some similar 
plants next to impossible. 

Viewed by a powerful microscope, this insect, magni- 
fied 400 times, appears of the size given in Fig. 58 ; it 
moves with great rapidity, and can only be examined as 
it stops to feed. When this little pest has once got a 
foothold, all direct remedies to dislodge him seem to be 
powerless; the fumes of tobacco, so destructive to the 



INSECTS AND DISEASES AFFECTING PLANTS. 275 

aphis, or of sulphur, which is death to the spicier, fall 
hai nilessly on this microscopic insect. 

There is hardly a doubt but that the fumes of sulphur 
or tobacco would destroy it, if it had not the power of 
imbedding itself in the leaf. This is evidently the case, 
as on subjecting affected plants to a severe fumigation 
with tobacco for thirty minutes no insects could be dis- 
cerned on the leaves ; but after a short time they again 
appeared on the field of the microscope, apparently un- 
scathed. We also find that an excellent preventive 
against this insect is to syringe the plants twice a week 
with a weak solution of fir-tree oil ; one-half pint to 
five gallons of water. This seems like tobacco smoke to 
check it somewhat, yet it is not a com- 
plete remedy and if plants are severely at- 
tacked, there is nothing for it but to throw 
those affected out — as there is but little 
doubt that it quickly spreads. Now, al- 
though we have no direct remedy against 
this insect, which produces the black rust, 
we have, I think, a preventive, by keeping 
the plants in that healthy condition which seems to be 
repellant to its attack. For the means used to get that 
healthy condition, see chapter on the culture of the Ver- 
bena, which is, with slight modifications, equally ap- 
plicable to all other plants affected by this insect. 

The microscope reveals that this particular species, 
which is so destructive to our Verbena, Heliotrope, Petu- 
nia, and scores of other plants cultivated in the green- 
house or garden, is the same or one that closely resembles 
that which gives the roughness to particular parts of the 
cherry, plum, and peach trees, and no doubt is to 
be found on thousands of other kinds of plants, when- 
ever a lessened vitality takes place. Corroborative of 
this view, I had a lot of about 500 plants of Heliotrope 
growing in two-inch pots in one of our greenhouses one 




276 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

year, one-half of which were, in September, shifted into 
three-inch pots, to be reserved for stock plants. They 
were kept side by side and treated in all respects the 
same. Those shifted, of course, with increased food, 
grew vigorously and strong, while the unshif ted remained 
comparatively stunted, and on the following December 
1st, the "black rust" showed itself on nearly every plant, 
and the microscope revealed on every affected leaf hun- 
dreds of these insects, feeding like sheep on a pasture 
field, while on the shifted plants none whatever were 
found. This is only one of hundreds of cases which 
yearly come under our observation, to prove that, from 
whatever cause the vital action of a plant is impaired, 
it is placed in the condition which in a greater or less de- 
gree invites the attack of parasitic fungi (mildew) or in- 
sects. 

Mealy Bug", as it is familiarly termed, is a white, mealy 
or downy-looking insect, belonging to the same family, 
from which the cochineal of commerce is obtained. It 
is an insect of the tropics, and is troublesome only among 
hot house plants, or such as are grown at a high temper- 
ature. Fortunately we have now a complete antidote 
against the ravages of the Mealy Bug by the use of fir-tree 
oil, mixed at the rate of one pint to five gallons of water, 
and syringed over the plants once a week. In fact the 
use of fir-tree oil, mixed and applied as above, has kept 
our greenhouses almost free from Mealy Bug and nearly 
all other insects, since we began using it in 1884. The 
great point, however, is its steady application, it being 
applied weekly. The proportions above given we find 
best for Dracenas, Crotons, etc., but for tender Roses, 
Verbenas, etc., in delicate growth half a pint to five gal- 
lons of water is as strong as it can be applied with 
safety. 

Brown and White Scale Insects.— These arc less inju- 
rious and less common to plants than any of the preced- 



INSECTS AND DISEASES AFFECTING PLANTS. 277 

ing, and are generally found in dark or ill-ventilated 
greenhouses, adhering to the stems and under part of the 
leaves of hard-wooded plants. The hest remedy is fir-tree 
oil, used as described for Mealy Bug. 

Thrips is an active insect, varying in size from that 
hardly perceptible by the naked eye, to the size of the 
Green Fly, and varying in color from whitish-yellow to 
dark brown; it is a jumping insect, very active in its 
movements, and when it once gets a foothold is very de- 
structive. It succumbs to tobacco smoke, but not so 
quickly as does the Green Fly. It luxuriates. in shaded 
situations, and is generally found where plants are stand- 
ing too thickly together, or where the ventilation or light 
of the greenhouse has been deficient. I think it may be 
safe to assert that in any well-regulated greenhouse or 
hot-house no injury from insects will ever become serious, 
if proper attention to syringing and fumigating has been 
given. Syringing, or other means of keeping a moist at- 
mosphere, must never be neglected for a day, and fumi- 
gating by tobacco smoke should be done, at the least, 
once each week. The application of fir-tree oil will also 
quickly check Thrips or Aphis. 

The " Carnation Twitter." — This is an insect fortu- 
nately but little known, and called in this district only 
by its local name of " Carnation Twitter," given from its 
rapid and nervous motion. As seen by the naked eye it 
is about the twentieth part of an inch in length, and of a 
thickness not more than that of a cambric needle. It is 
of various shades of color, from green to black; it is never 
very numerous on the plants, but most destructive and 
evidently poisonous in its attacks on all varieties of the 
Carnation and Pinks. 

Its effects on the Carnation somewhat resemble those 
of the Eed Spider, except that when attacked by the 
"Twitter," the leaves have a cankered and twisted ap- 



278 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

pearance, easily distinguishable from the browning effects 
of the Spider. When Carnations or Pinks get infested by 
this insect, all remedies to dislodge it seem futile. We 
have lost thousands of plants in a season by its attacks. 
It seems, however, to infest light or sandy soil more than 
heavy loam or clay, and seems, also, to be intermittent 
in its attacks, often not being seen for three or four years 
in succession, and again returning and destroying all in 
its path. In our light sandy soil at lower Jersey City we 
suffered from it, but for fifteen years, in our heavy, clayey 
soil on Jersey City Heights, it has rarely been seen. It 
generally attacks the plants in the open ground. We 
have not had it since we began the use of the fir-tree oil, 
and so have as yet had no opportunity to try it, but I am 
inclined to think it might be equally useful here, as it 
is against all other insects. 

Slugs or Snails. — These are troublesome both in the 
open ground and in the greenhouse. Salt is certain death 
to them, even in smallest quantities, and when in the 
open garden, a slight sprinkling of salt over the ground 
is effectual; but the sprinkling, it must be remembered, 
must be very slight, as salt, if put on (even as thick as 
sand is usually strewn on a floor) will kill almost any kind 
of vegetation. In our greenhouses the snails usually feed 
at night, getting under the benches during the day. We 
have found a most effectual remedy in strewing a thin 
line of salt on edge of each bench; — this makes a complete 
"dead line" for the Slugs or Snails, for they cannot 
cross it and live. Another plan is to slice up potatoes, 
carrots, cabbage, or lettuce leaves, to feed on, for which 
they will leave all other plants. Examine these traps 
daily, and destroy the captives. 

Ants are the most troublesome of all insect pests on 
lawns on sandy soils, and when these are on such large 
areas, any remedy as yet known is almost futile to destroy 



INSECTS AND DISEASES AFFECTING PLANTS. 279 

them. When on small areas, outside or in the greenhouse, 
we find about the best plans are to lay fresh bones, or pa- 
per covered with molasses, around their haunts. These 
they will come to in large numbers. They should be re- 
moved daily, and burned or otherwise destroyed. Another 
method that we have found more destructive to them 
than any other, is to puff Pyrethrum or Persian Insect 
Powder from a strong bellows among them. The small- 
est particle of this powder at once chokes and kills them, 
though it must strike them dry to be effective; for we 
find that when the powder lies damp on the floor, they 
will run over it, and even burrow in it with impunity. 
Nothing I have ever tried will "poison" Ants. Either 
their instinct causes them to avoid it, or else they are not 
affected by it. 

Angle Worms probably do no harm to plants ex- 
cept to disturb and "glue up" the soil, but this is to 
some extent hurtful to plants grown in pots or on 
benches in greenhouses. A simple remedy is to slack 
one pound of lime in fifteen or twenty gallons of water; 
let the lime settle to the bottom, using only the clear 
water, which will be sufficiently impregnated with lime 
to destroy the worms. The same remedy can also be ap- 
plied in the open ground; but Angle Worms do but little 
harm in the garden. In placing plants in pots out-doors 
or on an earth bench in the greenhouse, first sprinkle 
over with lime, which will prevent the worms entering 
the pots through the drainage holes. 



280 ' PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

CHAPTER LV. 
MILDEW. 

Opinions as to the cause of mildew are varied and 
somewhat contradictory. My view is, that mildew being 
a fungus growth, its seeds or spores are ever present in 
the atmosphere; and when a relaxed condition of the plant 
ensues, the minute germs find a suitable place for their 
development in the enfeebled leaf. Therefore I believe 
that anything that impedes the flow of the sap, places 
the plant in the condition fitted to develop mildew. 
Thus we often see our Roses without a taint of mildew 
during all the winter and early spring months, until the 
hot, dry weather of the middle or end of May dries the 
soil in the pots to such a degree that the plant wilts— 
the sap is impeded, and mildew follows. Or a door may be 
left open and the frosty air fastens on the stems and 
leaves, congeals the sap, enfeebles the plant, and though 
from an entirely opposite cause, the result is the same. 

I once had a most marked example of this kind. Early 
in April we had an old-fashioned lean-to green-house 
filled with Roses in full leaf, in the very highest state of 
vigor. The house was some sixty feet in length and was 
ventilated by sliding down every alternate sash at the 
top. In ventilating on one occasion, the sashes had been 
neglected to be closed until so late in the evening that 
the Roses exposed to the air had become chilled by frost 
so that the young shoots hung down as if wilted; as the 
greenhouse got heated up they recovered, and to all ap- 
pearance next morning looked none the worse for being 
frozen; but in a week after, mildew appeared in a clear- 
ly defined square space of about 3x3 feet, following al- 
most exactly in the line where the plants had been frost- 
bitten. It would here seem that the leaves thus enfeebled 



MILDEW. 281 

by the frost, simply afforded a congenial "soil, " for the 
mildew germs, which probably are ever present in the 
atmosphere. 

Ead the sap been arrested by the roots getting dry in 
that condition of growth, no doubt the result would 
have been nearly the same. 

Like most other diseases, mildew is best met by pre- 
vention rather than cure, and for this reason, all care 
should be taken to avoid the extremes referred to, as far 
as possible, to avoid great variation of temperature. 
Sulphur is applied in various ways to destroy mildew, 
but will often fail if the disease has gained much head- 
way. The best way is to use it mildly as a preventive. 
This is done by boiling three pounds of sulphur and 
three pounds of lime in six gallons of water until it is 
reduced to two gallons; allow the liquid to settle until it 
gets clear, then pour it off and keep it in a jar, or bottle 
it for use. One gill of this is to be mixed in five gallons 
of water and syringed over the Roses in the evening. 
Applied in this weak state it does not injure leaves, and 
yet has the effect of preventing mildew, if perseveringly 
attended to, as the spores of mildew seemingly cannot 
vegetate in an atmosphere or in a soil impregnated with 
sulphur. The above preparation is Sulphite of Calcium. 

Another method is, to dust the leaves very lightly with 
" Black, " or "Virgin Sulphur" — the only reason this 
kind is used in preference to the ordinary yellow sulphur 
is, that it is more volatile and can be used to give a lighter 
covering to the foliage, answering equally well and being 
less unsightly. We use one or the other of these methods 
once a week during spring or summer on our Roses, and 
thus keep almost entirely clear of mildew on all Roses 
grown under glass. 

But the most common and most efficient application 
of sulphur against mildew in the greenhouse, after firing 
has begun, is to paint the upper half of the hot-water 



282 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

pipes, with a mixture of sulphur and cow dung, sulphur 
and guano, or sulphur and lime. Either of these in- 
gredients will do to mix with the sulphur, the object be- 
ing to merely give a body to the mixture. We also paint 
our steam pipes with these mixtures, but care must be 
taken not to have more than one-fourth of the steam 
pipes painted, else the fumes of the sulphur might be 
strong enough to injure the leaves. For Black Spot, or 
Black Mildew, and Club Root or Wart Root, see chap- 
ter on '• Rose Growing in Winter, " 



CHAPTER LVI. 

DIARY OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR. 

The following diary of operations and observations of 
temperature was taken by my general foreman, at our 
greenhouses at Jersey City, N. J., from September 9th, 
1807, to September 9th, 1868. It is here given with 
some additions from our operations taken from a diary 
running through the same months in 1885 — 86. Al- 
though it necessarily contains many repetitions and mat- 
ters of minor interest, it will be found very valuable as a 
guide to the beginner, as well as for convenient reference 
to those of mature experience. We ourselves find such 
a diary an excellent monitor, as the importance of dates 
in all horticultural operations can not be over-estimated. 
The record of the thermometer taken in 1867 — 68 is 
placed at the end of the notes for each day, the first 
figure giving the temperature in the shade at 6 A. M., 
and the second that at 6 P. M. 

SEPTEMBER. 

9th. — From this date, once a week or oftener accord- 
ing to necessity, all plants grown under glass are syringed 



DIARY OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR. 283 

with a solution of fir-tree oil, to keep down mealy bug, 
scale, and other insects; it is also applied to Roses that 
are planted on benches for winter flowering, which are 
syringed every morning as soon as the sun strikes the 
glass, to keep down red spider, thrip, etc. We never 
syringe on dull days. Lifted and potted Bouvardias, 
preparatory to planting them out again on the benches 
for winter. It is of the utmost inrportance that Bou- 
vardias should be potted early — not later than the mid- 
dle of September, in this section. If left until cool 
weather sets it, they will not root freely in the pots, be- 
ing plants that luxuriate in a high temperature. The 
plants are kept shaded and watered carefully, for a week 
or so after being potted, and it is better to keep them 
outside until they are placed permanently in the green- 
house. Also, put in cuttings of Variegated Geraniums 
of various kinds this day. Topped Carnations,for the pur- 
pose of producing suitable cuttings in October; it is now 
too late to cut back those that are wanted for winter 
flowers. Collected seeds of Salvia patens and 8. splen- 
dent. Cleared off old plants of Pansies, to allow the 
self-sown seedlings light and air. Beginning to dry off 
Caladiums grown in six inch pots. 60° — G2°. 

10th. — Continued potting Bouvardias. Put in cut- 
tings of Zonale Geraniums; also, a few cuttings of those 
Verbenas of which our stock is short. 61° — 64°. 

12th. — Repotted Primulas, for winter flowering. 
Sowed Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Lettuce seed in open 
ground, to be planted out under cold frames in October. 
59°— 55°. 

13th. — Repotted Fuchsias for stock. Layered Straw- 
berries in two-inch pots, to make a plantation next 
month, rather late, however. 54° — 60°. 

lUli. — Began propagating general collection of Verbe- 
nas; cuttings in excellent order. Collected flower seeds 
of all kinds. 5S°— 59°. 



281 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

16/A. — Kepotted Euphorbia, Poinsettia, and other 
plants for winter flowering. Lifted and potted stock 
Geraniums that we are short of to make cuttings during: 
winter. 55° — 59°. 

11th. — Began propagating a general collection of bed- 
ding plants, and as the weather is getting somewhat hot- 
ter, precaution is taken to douse the walks, benches, and 
all parts of the propagating houses with water, to reduce 
the temperature. A little ventilation left on in all Kose 
houses at night — the object being to prevent a too ten- 
der growth, as colder weather must soon be expected. 
65°— 75°. 

18//^. — Collected seeds of Campanulas, Lychnis, Del- 
phiniums, and other hardy herbaceous plants, and sowed 
at once; nearly all seeds of this character germinate bet- 
ter if sown as soon as gathered. 69° — 74°. 

19/A. — Overhauled boilers and examined valves, pre- 
paratory for winter work, painted pipes with sulphur 
mixture to ward off mildew. See "Mildew." 

20th. — Potted off in two-inch pots the Verbena cut- 
tings that were put in on the 10th and 12th inst. Eesult 
excellent. No fire heat has as yet been used in propagat- 
ing. G8°— 70°. 

22df. — Planted those Bouvardias that were potted on 
the 9th iustant, on the benches of the greenhouse; also 
placed Poinsettias under glass. They are taken from the 
pots and planted in six inches of soil, at a distance of 
from eight to twelve inches apart, or near enough for the 
plants to touch. The distance apart is regulated by the 
size of the plants. Began to propagate second and larg- 
est lot of Verbenas, Heliotropes, and general collection of 
bedding plants, it being rather safer at this date than on 
the previous ones of the 10th and 12th, on account of a 
general lower temperature. Gathered Verbena, Salvia, 
and other flower seeds, that are in better state now than 
they were two weeks ago. 52° — 52°. 



DIARY OF OPERATIONS FOR THE TEAR. 285 

23c?. — Eemoved the slight shading from the glass that 
was put on in June. 

24/A. — Put in main crop of Verbena cuttings from open 
ground at this date. Fumigated greenhouses, in which 
bedding plants are kept for the first time this season; 
will continue to do so at least twice every week until the 
greenhouses are again empty of plants, the order being 
that Aphis or Green Fly must never be seen; placed fresh 
tobacco stems under the Eose benches. 43° — 55°. 

25th. — Lifted Carnations with balls of earth from the 
open ground, and planted them in five or six inches of 
soil on the benches of the greenhouses for winter flower- 
ing. We are enabled to lift them in this way from the 
peculiarity of our soil, which is stiff and clayey; on most 
soils this method would not be practicable; if the soil 
did not adhere to the roots it would be necessary to be 
more careful in shading. Put in cuttings of Variegated 
and Zonale Geraniums for main crop. 58° — GO . 

26th. — Continued putting in Verbena and other cut- 
tings. First fires started. It is all important to watch 
for the first fall in temperature about this date. Many 
houses of Eoses and other plants are ruined from the ne- 
glect to start slight fires when the thermometer quickly 
falls, as it often does at this date, fifteen degrees in twelve 
hours. In 1881, before this was generally understood, 
one-half of all the Eose houses in the vicinity of New 
York had their contents destroyed during a cold rain 
storm in September, where the thermometer fell twenty 
degrees in twenty-four hours. 40° — 44°. 

27th. — Planted out in the benches Eupatoriums, Stev- 
ias, etc., that have been kept in pots all summer. 42° — 
50°. 

2£th. — Put in cuttings of Coleus, Salvias, etc., from 
outside. 42°— 49°. 

30th. — Put all tender plants in the houses, as from 
about this date there is danger from frost. Lifted clumps 



286 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

of double Neapolitan Violet, and planted them at dis- 
tances of nine or ten inches apart, on the benches of cold 
greenhouse, in the same way as the Carnations. The 
same precautions necessary in shading and watering, if 
the weather is dry and sunny. 42° — 50°. 

OCTOBER. 

1st. — Lifted and potted Carnations and Pinks from the 
open ground, that are wished for early flowering in spring. 
42°— 53°. 

2d. — Potted off Petunias, Zonale Geraniums, and other 
bedding plants that were put in as cuttings on the 17th 
ult. Planted out Stevia compacta and other varieties on 
benches of greenhouse, for winter flowering, as they 
are too tall, they are planted by laying them on their 
side, which answers well. Lifted up and planted Straw- 
berry runners closely together in cold frames, so that they 
can be conveniently got at in spring for early orders. 
Planted early, they make root sufficient to stand the win- 
ter. 42°— 52°. 

3d. — "Top dressed" Rose beds, one inch in depth, 
with a compost of two parts soil and two parts rotted 
cow dung, to which is added about one-twentieth in bulk 
of pure bone dust. 

tth. — Potted off Verbenas put in on the 22d ult.; had 
excellent success. 47° — 50°. 

Mil. — Lifted from ground stock plants of Variegated 
and Zonale Geraniums, and potted them. 49° — 54°. 

1th. — Operations same as Saturday. To-day shows the 
first ice, and very tender plants outside are somewhat in- 
jured. Dahlias uninjured. 33° — 48°. 

8th. — Corrected and re-labeled Dahlias, in anticipation 
of their soon being cut down by frost. Potted off Verbe- 
nas, and put in cuttings of Verbenas, and Eose and Zonale 
Geraniums. 34° — 46°. 

Qtk. — The advancing season warns us to house Lemon 



DIARY OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR. 287 

Verbenas, Geraniums, Roses, Chrysanthemums, and other 
of the more hardy plants that have yet been standing out- 
doors. Lemon Verbenas being deciduous (shedding their 
leaves), are put under the benches, as they can there be 
kept with safety until March, when they begin to start 
again; tbe temperature will average 45° under the bench. 
46°— 52°. 

107 /j. — The same as yesterday. 

11th. — Lifted Japan and other Lilies and placed them 
closely together, covered with four inches of sand, at the 
north side of a south wall, to retard them for spring sales; 
they are lifted for this purpose only, as nearly all Lilies 
are hardy, and will always do better if left out undis- 
turbed all winter where they grew; though if the situa- 
tion is very cold or exposed, a covering up with a few 
inches of sawdust, leaves, or manure, will be of benefit. 
48°— 61°. 

12th. — Put in cuttings of Fuchsias, Heliotropes, and 
Carnations, that have been started from plants grown 
under glass; young shoots only. 49° — 62°. 

14th. — Lifted Tuberoses, and placed them in empty 
benches of greenhouses to dry. Tied down the flowering 
shoots of Tuberoses that are getting against the glass. 
44°— 52°. 

15th. — The earlier kinds of Chrysanthemums, such as 
Elaine (white), Red Dragon, Lance d" Or (dark yellow), 
Boquet Fait (rose), Geo. Glenny (lemon color), J. Collins 
(bronze), are now coming in flower and selling well, 
other flowers being rather scarce at this date. We And it 
best to grow for flowers such Chrysanthemums as are 
early and late, and thus avoid the glut that always occurs 
in the latter part of November. 

16th. — Put in cuttings of Carnations and Pinks of all 
kinds. 41°— 58°. 

17th. — Pricked out Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Lettuce 



288 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

plants, (that were sown on the 12th of September,) in 
cold frames. 50° — 61°. 

18th. — Pricked out in shallow boxes seedlings of Del- 
phinium, etc., sown on the 4th of last month. 50° — 61°. 

IQth. — Planted Pansy seedlings from seeds sown on the 
15th of September, in cold frames, four or five inches 
apart each way. 52° — 68°. 

2Ut. — Continued planting Pansies, and put in Verbena 
cuttings, taken from the open ground. Collected seeds 
of Verbenas, Salvias, etc., etc. 53°— 55°. 

22d. — Potted off the Verbenas put in on the 8th inst. ; 
also, Coleus, Centaurea, Salvias, etc., that were put in on 
the 28th of September. Sowed Centaurea, Pyrethrum, 
etc., for ribbon line plants for spring. 54° — 63°. 

23^.— Lifted, divided, and potted Callus. 44°— 46°. 

24/7*. — Kepotted Stock Gilitiowers. First severe frost. 
Dahlias and all tender plants cut down. 24° — 46°. 

25th. — Made cuttings of a general variety of soft- 
wooded plants, of such as have yet stood uninjured in 
the open ground. 3G° — 44°. 

26th. — Moved the first potted lots of Verbenas, to pre- 
vent them rooting through into the sand, and shifted 
about one-fourth into three inch pots, for stock plants 
for cuttings. 35°— 41°. 

28th. — Potted off Fuchsias, Heliotropes, etc., from 
propagating house. Lifted Roses from the open ground 
for shipment and for potting, to be kept in cold frames. 
40°_5G°. 

29th. — Potted Mijrsiphyllum (Smilax) asparaffoides, 
from seed boxes, (sown on August 1st); cleaned up and 
top-dressed Primulas. 50° — 50°. 

SQth. — Continued lifting Roses for shipment. 4G° — 

54°. 

3l£/.__Put in Carnations and Pink cuttings; we find 
greater success at this season than earlier, it being very 
important that Carnation cuttings are rooted at a low 



DIARY OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR. 289 

atmospheric temperature. Caladiums completely dried 
off taken from benches, and placed underneath them; 
those must be kept dry until they are again to be started 
in May. 41°— 53° 

NOVEMBER. 

1st. — Potted Roses for spring blooming and sales, first 
pruning off one-third of the shoots. This operation of 
pruning should always be done before the plant is potted, 
as it takes less than half the time, and the plant being 
divested of its superfluous shoots is much more cpjickly 
and easily handled in potting. The plants after potting 
are freely watered once, to consolidate the soil, and if the 
sun is bright and warm they are shaded by latticed shut- 
ters. The plants are placed in a cold greenhouse or cold 
frame, care being taken to keep them as cool as possible, 
and on no consideration to use fire heat unless to keep the 
soil in the pots from freezing. Little fire need be used if 
the pots are completely covered with dry leaves. If pos- 
sible, Eoses should never be kept at a higher temperature 
than forty degrees by .fire heat, until the young or 
"working roots" are formed. See Chapter on the Rose 
for more comprehensive details. 41° — 53°. 

2d. — Continued potting Roses, and put in Antirrhi- 
num, Pentstemon, and other cuttings of half hardy 
plants from the open ground. 45° — 53°. 

4th. — Cut down and placed under the benches the 
Dahlias that have been grown during summer in pots. 
4?°— 48°. 

5th. — The Roses, Bouvardias. Carnations, Stevias, etc., 
are now blooming profusely. 33° — 40°. 

6th. — The cold weather warns us that everything must 
soon be secured, so to-day we take up, divide, and pot for 
spring sales, herbaceous plants of all kinds. Late Chrys- 
anthemums grown in deep frames, must now be covered 
up with straw mats every night, giving air freely in the 



290 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

day time; also watch that they do not get dry at the 
roots. 31°— 40°. 

7th. — Last night's frost finally destroyed the Dahlias, 
so we lifted and secured them to-day, by drying on the 
empty benches of the greenhouse. Those to be started 
for cuttings in March are now placed at once in soil and 
kept there without water until they start; in this way 
every root can be saved. Cannas were lifted and placed 
under greenhouse benches. 30° — 42°. 

8th. — Planted in the open ground the Strawberry run- 
ners that were layered in pots, and covered them close up 
to the neck of the plants with rough manure. Put in 
Carnation, Begonia, Petunia, Verbena, and other cut- 
tings, from plants that have been growing in the green- 
house. 41°— 52°. 

( Jth. — Put Tuberose bulbs that have been dried on the 
top of the benches underneath, to make room for plants 
needing light. 42°— 50°. 

iOtfi.— The same. 42°— 51°. 

12th. — Again resumed the potting of the general col- 
lection of Roses, which had to be partially suspended for 
more pressing work. First snow, two inches deep. 34° 
—40°. 

13^.— Potted Verbena cuttings and Roses. 33°— 32°. 

lith. — Lifted Violets from open exposure and placed 
them in a sheltered spot for planting out for stock in 
spring. 30°— 45°. 

15th. — Put in cuttings of Variegated and other Geran- 
iums from plants that have been under glass since Octo- 
ber 5th. 33°— 34°. 

1C/A. — Potted off cuttings of Geraniums that were put 
in the cutting bench in September. The cuttings were 
too soft, owing to the season, when they were put in, and 
in consequence have taken longer to root, yet have nearly 
all taken. 36°— 40°. 

VI th, — Lifted and potted stock plants of Chrysanthe- 



D1A.KY OF OPERATIONS TOR THE YEAR. 291 

mums and Phloxes. Eoses and Azaleas imported from 
England and Germany, were received in fine order. 28° 
—25°. 

19th. — Put in cuttings of Pelargoniums, Geraniums, 
Carnations, etc. 18°— 25°. 

20th. — Lifted Eoses from the open ground and heeled 
them in under cover, as we were apprehensive fhey may 
yet freeze in the ground, and our potting of Eoses is two 
weeks later than usual. An experience of over thirty 
years in the vicinity of New York shows us that we are 
never absolutely safe from having the ground frozen after 
November 20th. Hence all lifting of plants from the 
open ground, digging, or plowing should be finished by 
this date. 37°— 39°. 

2UL— The same. 33°— 40°. 

22c?. — Eeceived six cases of new plants from London, 
in fair order; we find this time of the year and March, 
the safest months in which to import. Earlier in the 
season, the temperature is too high, and in the time in- 
tervening between November and March there is danger 
from frost. 32°— 43°. 

23c?. — Put in cuttings of Eoses made from ripened 
wood, and placed them in a cold frame, so sheltered as 
not to be frozen in winter. But the result from this 
method is far less satisfactory than in propagating Eoses 
from cuttings of the young wood; here we lose an aver- 
age of fifty per cent., while from the young shoots, if 
done at the time and in the manner described in the 
Chapter on Propagation, not even one per cent, need be 
lost. 39°— 45°. 

25th.— The same. 44°— 49°. 

26th.— The same. 50°— 47°. 

27 th. — Cleared the ground of the remaining Eoses and 
Shrubs, preparatory to plowing up for winter, though 
rather late. See remarks under 20th inst. 34° — 43°. 

28th.— The same as yesterday. 43°— 48°. 



292 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

29th. — Overhauled and arranged recently potted off 
plants. Tuberose flowers are now produced in quantity 
from bulbs that were planted in benches in greenhouse, 
on August 1st. 42°— 50°. 

30th. — Sowed large quantities of seed of Ampelopsis 
Yeitchii in shallow boxes. Sown thus early they make 
fine plants for setting out in May; also seeds of Dracemi 
indivisa, Pandanus iitilis and Latania Borbonica, and 
other palm seeds were sown. 38° — 24°. 

DECEMBER. 

2d. — Potted off cuttings of Carnations and Pinks that 
were put in on the 11th of October; loss heavy, as they 
have been put in two weeks too early. 27° — 28°. 

3d. — Potted off cuttings of Pentstemons, Antirrhinums, 
etc., which were put in a month ago. Very successful. 
30°— 35°. 

Uh. — Continued potting Roses, and putting in hard- 
wood cuttings of Roses. 26° — 30°. 

5th. — Flowers of Bouvardias, Carnations, Heliotropes,- 
Roses, and Tuberoses, are now produced in large quanti- 
ties from the plantations previously made, as recorded. 
We find that in the planting out of Tuberose bulbs on 
the 15th of July, 1st of August, and 15th of August, 
those planted on the 1st of August give the most profita- 
ble results; the first date being too early, brings them in 
while the market is glutted, while by that of the 15th of 
August, the bulbs get too much exhausted by being kept 
dry too long out of season. Next season will put late 
bulbs in "cold storage vaults." 26°— 28°. 

6th. — Finished potting Roses in five and six-inch pots. 
The operation has occupied in the potting alone the time 
of three hands for about three weeks, the average work 
of each being eight hundred plants per day. 

7th. — Put in cuttings of Verbenas, Carnations, Zonale 
and Variegated Geraniums, Pelargoniums, and soft wooded 



DTARY OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR. 293 

plants of all kinds, the condition of the temperature from 
this date to the middle of March being such that cut- 
tings of every description are rooted with unerring cer- 
tainty, if the simple conditions which we hiy down in 
Chapter on Propagation are followed. 

9th. — At this date, we number fifty thousand of our 
staple plant, Verbena. These we will multiply from ten 
to fifteen fold, until the first week in May, which is as 
late as the Verbena can be propagated, to make a plant 
of sufficient strength. 30°— 26°. 

10th. — Potted off Carnation cuttings, which were put 
in on November 8th, from plants grown under glass, 
which have done very well. Repotted and cleaned up 
Primroses. 27°— 28°. 

11th. — Put in green cuttings of Bouvardias, in bottom 
heat at eighty; top heat seventy. This mode of propa- 
gating the Bouvardia is not so good as by the root, but 
it is necessary sometimes to do so when we wish to in- 
crease new sorts rapidly. 27° — 28°. 

12th. — Put in cuttings of winter flowering Roses taken 
from the plants that are flowering. 20° — 8°. 

13th. — Again painted pipes with the sulphur mixture to 
counteract mildew; also put in fresh tobacco stems under 
benches to keep down Aphis. See "Insects." 4° — b\ 

Uth. —The same. 14°— 12°. 

16th. — Began staking Roses to-day. If stakes are pro- 
vided, the average work for each hand is five hundred 
plants per day. Experienced hands should nearly double 
that number. 16°— 24°. 

17 th. — Put in cuttings of the new Fuchsias, Chrysan- 
themums, etc., from the plants which were received from 
England on November 22d. 22°— 28°. 

18th. — Repotted Lantanas, Variegated Geraniums and 
other plants, kept in hot-house range. 23° — 20°. 

19th.— Potted off cuttings. 11°— 10°. 



;: c j4 practical floriculture. 

20th. — Sowed Pansier, Daisies and Forget-me-nots for 
late flowering in spring. 8° — 26°. 

21st. — Put in root cuttings of Anemone. (See Propa- 
gation). 22°— 26°. 

23d. Shipped to-day large numbers of Verbenas, 
packed in close boxes. (See chapter on packing). 28° 
—26°. 

24:th. — Put in cuttings of Coleus, Lantanas, Fuchsias, 
Petunias, etc., etc. 27° — 30°. 

25th.— Christmas Day. 30°— 36°. 

26th. — Continued propagation of all kinds of plants, 
and shifted Geraniums, Heliotropes, Koses, etc., from 
two to three inch pots. 42° — 38°. 

27th.— The same. 44°— 40°. 

28/7* — Eepotted Zonale and Variegated Geraniums, to 
induce growth to produce material for cuttings. 36° — 
42°. 

QOth. — Cleared off the roots of Tuberoses that have 
done flowering (those that were planted in July and 
August). The last flowers sold at $8.00 per 100 florets 
on the 24th inst., (1867). Could they have been kept 
until January 1st, they would have sold one- third high- 
er. Busy in cutting flowers to-day, in large quantities, 
to be made up into baskets and bouquets for New Year's 
Day. Late Chrysanthemums such as Yellow Eagle, Cul- 
lingfordii, (Crimson), Christmas Eve, (White), Moon- 
light, (Straw Color), Mrs. Allen, (Carmine), and Fan- 
tasie, (Pink), that have been kept in cold houses and 
matted up in deep pits — have done well and are very 
profitable when kept thus late. 26° — 24°. 

Zlst. — The same. 

JANUARY. 

2nd. — Sowed seeds of Lobelia Paxtoniana, Delphinium, 
and other plants suitable for bedding out for summer. 
28°— 22°. 



DIARY OF OPERATION'S FOR THE YEAR. 295 

3rd. — Repotted slock plants of Pelargoniums, Fuch- 
sias, Lantanas, Petunias, etc., to encourage growth to 
produce cuttings. 29° — 34°. 

4th.— The same. 24°— 28°. 

6th.— The same. 14°— 26°. 

1th. — Eepotted Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, Heliotropes, 
Petunias, etc., from two-inch to four-inch pots, to pro- 
duce growth for spring sales. 20° — 30°. 

Sth. — Large quantities of Verbenas, Heliotropes, Fuch- 
sias, etc., are now put in the propagating benches, this 
being, perhaps, the best season to root cuttings, to give 
fine plants in May. 24°— 32°. 

9th. — Washed the soil from "pot bound" plants of 
Heliotropes, Pelargoniums, and similar plants grown in 
bench pots, and re-potted in fresh soil in pots of similar 
size. For detail of this method see Potting of Plants. 
28°— 14°. 

10th. — First sowing of Cabbage, Cauliflower and Let- 
tuce in seed house. Night temperature, 55°. 4° — 12°. 

11th.— The same. 14°— 18°. 

13th. — First lot of Chrysanthemum cuttings put in 
from general collection. 10° — 12°. 

14th. — Shifted Eoses that are forcing to produce win- 
ter flowers. This date is not the best for this work — 
nearer spring is better — but the plants required it. 10° 
—20°. 

15th.— The same 14°— 22°. 

l&h.— The same. 18°— 22°. 

nth. — Pricked out in shallow boxes, one inch apart, 
the seedling plants sown on the 2nd inst. 12° — 20°. 

18/A. — Potted off from propagating house, struck cut- 
tings of Petunias, Heliotropes, Variegated Geraniums, 
Carnations, etc. 10°— 22°. 

20 th. — Top dressed Eoses with the same compost, and 
in the same manner, as was done on October 3rd. Begun 
grafting Eoses. See Propagation. 20° — 31°. 



29G PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

%\st. The same. 18°— 34°. 

22nd.— The same. 20°— 14°. 

23rd. — Potted Anemone Japonica from root cuttings 
put in on the 21st ult. 22°— 18°. 

24£A. — Again potted off Verbenas and Roses in large 
quantities, and filled up the place occupied by them in 
the bench with cuttings. 19° — 24°. 

25th. The same. 20°— 18°. 

2§th. — Weather is steady and moderate, which is taken 
advantage of to ship plants to all parts of the country. 
Packing is done securely, so that almost every case is re- 
ceived in safety. See Chapter on Packing. 20° — 22°. 

28/A. — All operations but firing and watering nearly 
suspended, in consequence of all hands being occupied in 
getting up orders and packing. 18° — 24°. 

29th. — Potted off Passiflora ccerulea from root cut- 
tings. Potted off in two-inch pots Delphiniums and 
Lobelias that had been pricked out in shallow boxes on 
the 17th inst. 22°— 28°. 

30th. — Continued to pot rooted cuttings of Verbenas, 
Geraniums, etc., filling up the space by fresh cuttings 
as soon as cleared. 16° — 12°. 

31s/ — Finished staking Roses to-day. Second sowing 
of Cabbage and Cauliflower in seed house. 8° — 16°. 

FEBRUARY. 

1st. — "Plunged'" Roses in greenhouse benches that 
have been taken from cold pits, in refuse hops to the 
rims of the pots. We find this a great saving in water- 
ing, besides keeping the roots in a uniform condition of 
moisture. conducive to healthy growth. 8° — 16°. 

2nd.— The same. 8°— 1G°. 

3rd. The same. 6°— 4°. 

Uh.— The same. Zero— G°. 

5th. — Cleared the benches of Eupatorium, Steria, Car- 



DIARY OF OPERATIONS FOR THE TEAR. 297 

nations, etc., which have become exhausted or are done 
flowering, and tilled up with spring stock. 4° — 18°. 
6th. —The same. 22°— 28°. 

7th. Put in cuttings of Roses, Lantanas, Fuchsias, 
Antirrhinums, Petunias, etc. 22° — 28°. 

8th. — The same. 1° below zero — 12°. 

10th. — Cleared off Bouvardias that have been forcing 
for flowers, cutting off the tops and planting the roots 
closely together in shallow boxes, and placing them under 
the bench. These roots make splendid plants for next 
season, or the roots may be cut up for propagating. 12° 
— 8 C . 

11th. — Pricking out Cauliflower and Cabbage into boxes 
one and one-half inch deep from the lot sown January 
10th. They are placed outside in cold houses or slight 
hot-bed and matted up. 

12th. — Arranged plants on the benches where the Bou- 
vardias and other flowering plants had been growing, 
Zero— 26°. 

13th. — Continued plunging Roses, as begun on the 
first inst., placing them, according to the size of the 
plants, at such distance apart as will allow the outside 
shoots to be an inch or so from each other. A house full 
of Roses in the dormant state when the pots are placed 
close to each other should fill, when thinned out, just 
double the space, to give them sufficient room to grow. 
20°— 32°. 

\4.th. The same. 

loth. — The same. 

17th. — Put in cuttings of Phloxes and Chrysanthe- 
mums. 14°— 32°. 

18/7/. — Put in cuttings of Begonias, Stevias, Eupatori- 
ums, etc., etc., to produce plants to grow in summer for 
next winter's flowers. 

19/A. — Cleared out Carnation plants that have been 
forced for flower. As such plants are of but little use 



298 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

after they have been thus forced, we find it most profit- 
able to throw them away and replace them by young and 
fresh stuff. 22°— 30°. 

20th. — Pricked out rooted cuttings of Carnations one 
inch apart in shallow boxes, to economize space; after be- 
ing sufficiently rooted in the boxes, they are placed in 
cold greenhouses or frames. See Carnations for Cut 
Flowers. We find that thus treated and planted out in 
the open ground they do quite as well as if they had 
been potted, and nearly one-half the space is saved. 30° 
—34°. 

21st. — Put in large quantities of the leading bedding 
plants, such as Verbenas, Petunias, Heliotropes, Gera- 
niums, etc., for succession crops. 36° — 30°. 

22d. — Pricking out Cabbage, Cauliflower and Lettuce 
from the seed sown January 31st. 26° — 30°. 

Mt7i.— The same. 2i°— 16°. 

25th. — Put in first Rose cuttings from young wood, of 
some new sorts that are scarce with us. Finished thin- 
ning out and plunging Eoses. 17° — 22°. 

26th. — Put in cuttings of Lantana, Variegated Gera- 
niums, etc. 

27th.— The same. 24°— 30°. 

28^.— The same. 28°— 26°. 

29th. — First sowing of Tomato, Pepper, and Egg Plant 
seeds in shallow boxes for spring plants, in a night tem- 
perature of 65°. 22°— 20°. 

MARCH. 

2nd. — Put in first cuttings of Dahlias, new Chrysanthe- 
mums, new Fuchsias, etc. Sowed Chinese Primroses, 
Calceolaria, Cineraria, and seeds of other plants of this 
class, as we find it is better to sow now and carry them 
through the summer than to sow, as is often done, in 
August. See Chapter on Propagation by Seeds. 12° 
—10°. 



DIARY OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR. ;*99 

3rd. — Pricked off seedling Petunias into shallow boxes 
one inch apart each way. Sowed Verbena seeds in shal- 
low boxes; as they germinate slowly, care is taken to 
cover with finely-sifted leaf mould to the depth of half 
an inch, and sprinkle daily, so that they never get dry. 
See Propagation of Plants by seeds. Temperature at 
night 60° to 65°. Zero— 4°. 

4th. — Began to put in Rose cuttings in quantity, care 
being taken not to let the bottom heat exceed 65°, wich 
an atmosphere of 10 or 15 degrees lower. See Propaga- 
tion for further details. Zero — 20°. 

5th. — The same. 

6th. — Potted off Pelargonium cuttings in good order; 
they will make fine, healthy plants by May. Sowed 
Zinnias, Asters, and all tender annual seeds. 16° — 33°. 

7th. — We are now shipping large quantities of all kinds 
of plants, mostly to florists. 32°— 34°. 

9th. — Put in cuttings of all sorts in large quantities. 
30°_40°. 

10th. — Second sowing of Tomatoes, Pepper, and Egg 
Plant seeds for succession. 32° — 30°. 

11th. — Put in Rose cuttings in large quantities. 30° 
—25°. 

12th.— The same. 30°— 30°. 

13th. — Pricked out in shallow boxes, an inch to an 
inch and a half apart, the Tomato, Pepper and Egg 
Plants from seeds sown on the 29th ult. Avenige work 
for one hand is about 3,000 plants per day. 36° — 42°. 

14th. — The same. 

16th. — Put in cuttings of Dahlias, Fuchsias, etc. 42° 
—44°. 

17th — Potted off the Rose cuttings which were put in 
on the 25th ult. ; an entire success. 40° — 46°. 

18*7*. — Placed young Carnation plants out in cold 
frames, to harden them off, preparatory to planting them 
out in the open ground. 38° — 42°. 



300 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

19*7*.— The same. 30°— 40°. 

20th.— The same. 30°— 34°. 

22nd. — Continued putting in Roses and Verbena cut- 
tings in large quantities. 28° — 30°. 

23rd.— The same. 30°— 42°. 

24*7*. — Pricked out in shallow boxes the Zinnias and 
Asters, which were sown on the 6th inst. 30° — 42°. 

25th.— Now shipping largely. 30°— 28°. 

25th. — The second sowing of Tomatoes and Egg Plants 
was pricked out in boxes. Continued putting in Rose 
cuttings in large quantities. 30° — 26°. 

27*7*.— The same. 40°— 44°. 

28*7*. — Pricked out in shallow boxes the seedling plants 
of Verbenas that were sown on the 3d inst. 32° — 38°. 

30*7*. — Putting in cuttings of Clematis and Azaleas, 
using the young wood partially firm. 30° — 36°. 

31s/. — Potted off Rose cuttings that were put in on the 
4th inst. 32°— 48°. 

APRIL. 

lst m — The Pansy seedlings sown on 29th December 
and pricked out in boxes, were now pricked out in cold 
frames, and matted up on cold nights. These make fine 
plants by middle of May and bloom much better through 
the hot weather, than those sown in the fall. Ampelopsis 
Veitchii, from seeds sown January 1st, are now being 
potted in three inch pots. Selected and shifted stock 
plants of Verbenas, Geraniums, Fuchsias, Chrysanthe- 
mums, Roses, etc., to be reserved for stock. 

2nd. — Began to plant in the open ground Carnations 
and Pinks that are to be kept for our own stock. (Note. 
— May 2nd. Since these have been planted, the ground 
has been frozen solid to the depth of four inches, or be- 
low the ball of roots, yet not a single plant is killed, or 
even injured. The Carnation, be it remembered, is al- 



DIARY OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR. 301 

most a hardy plant, and if not raised too tender, will 
stand a great amount of cold without injury. Our lesson 
from this, then, is that, if we have plants in the neces- 
sary hardy condition, they may be planted out in spring 
just as soon as the ground is dry enough to work with 
advantage.) 32°— 30°. 

3rd. — Potted off Verbenas, and continued planting Car- 
nations outside. 30°— 32°. (Mote.— May 2nd. Those 
planted from the boxes show quite as well as those that 
had been grown in pots.) 

4th. — Put in cuttings largely of Alternantheras, 
Coleus, Lantanas, Bouvardia roots, and such cuttings as 
require the higher temperature that the brighter sun- 
shine now gives. 30° — 48°. 

5th. — Began potting off a large quantity of Verbenas 
to-day ; potted even at this date, they form splendid 
plants. 25°— 34°. 

Hth. — Put in cuttings of Dahlias and Lemon Verbenas, 
the latter for next year's stock. 

8th. — Continued, making Rose cuttings and potting off 
such as are rooted. 45° — 40°. 

9th.— The same, 24°— 36°. 

10th.— The same. 28°— 34°. 

11th.— The same. 26°— 32. 

13th. — Put in cuttings of Lobelia, Pyrethrum, and 
similar plants, for baskets and vases. 25° — 30°. 

14^.— The same. 40°— 44°. 

loth. — Put in cuttings of Coleus, Verbenas, Pelargo- 
niums, and Zonale, Variegated, and Rose Geraniums. 
It will be noticed that this date is later than plants are 
usually propagated by florists — but every years' business 
shows an increasing demand later in the season, and the 
plants from these late propagations make excellent 
specimens by June. See Succession Crops, page 261. 
50°— 60°. 

16th.— The same. 48°— 52°. 



302 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

17th. — Continued putting in Verbena and Rose cut- 
tings, and planted out Carnations in open ground. No 
Rose cuttings yet planted out, on account of a very wet 
spell. There would be no danger from frost now, were 
the ground sufficiently dry. 40° — 44°. 

18th. — Putting in large lots of Coleus cuttings. 

20th. — Sowed Tomatoes for a succession crop. 44° 
—46°. 

21st. — Put in cuttings of Double White Primula, for 
fall stock. 42°— 48°. 

22nd. — First planting of Roses in the open ground. 
Plants in very fine condition. They would have been 
planted ten days ago if the ground had been dry. 46° 
—52°. 

23rd. — The same. 

24ft.— Put in to-day 20,000 Verbena cuttings. These 
will make very fine plants by the end of May. 32° — 44°. 

25th. — Put in cuttings of Dahlias and Double Gerani- 
ums. 40°— 36°. 

27th. — Selected the best Pansies, and planted them out 
for seed for stock. 40°— 48°. 

28th.— Planted out Roses. 36°— 42°. 

29th.— The same. 42°— 46. 

30th. — Rose cuttings made to-day, later than this, 
it is rather uphill work propagating Roses, owing to 
the increased heat of the advancing season. 42° — 60°. 

MAY. 

1st, —Planted out Lilies, Pseonies, and other hardy 
plants, in open ground, divided Caladium Bulbs ani 
potted into two inch pots in leaf mould and sand ; also, 
potted and started Tuberous rooted Begonias and Glox- 
inias, find these tropical bulbs should not be started 
much earlier than this date. 42° — 60°. 



DIARY OF OPERATIONS TOR THE YEAR. 303 

2nd. — Planted out in open ground seedling Verbenas 
from the boxes in which they have been pricked out, at 
distances of eighteen inches between the rows, and four 
inches between the plants, also, stock plants of named 
Verbenas. They are put thus close to admit of rejecting 
inferior sorts as they flower. 40° — 52°. 

ith. — Pricked out Egg Plants from third sowing, (April 
10th) and also potted those previously pricked out in 
boxes. Egg plants being rather difficult to transplant, 
we prefer to pot (hem, but there is no such reason for 
putting Tomato or Pepper plants in pots. 46° — 54°. 

5th. — Potted off root cuttings of Bouvardia in large 
quantities. 48°— 52°. 

6th. — Planted out in the open ground stock plants of 
Variegated and Zonale Geraniums, the ones we have been 
propagating from all winter, also the young plants shifted 
for new stock. 50° — 53°. 

1th. — Put in cuttings of Dahlias, Coleus and Al- 
ternanthera, and potted off such as are rooted. 50° — 44°. 

8th. — Put in cuttings of Lemon Verbenas for next sea- 
son's stock, and potted off the last of Verbena cuttings 
for the season. 42° — 52°. 

9th. — Potted off a general assortment of bedding plants 
mostly new, for our own stock. 46° — 54°. 

liih,— Planted out Eoses largely. 48°— 56°. 

12th.— Potted off Rose cuttings. 46°— 50°. 

13th. — Potted off the Lemon Verbenas that were put 
in on the 7th ult. ; found them too largely rooted, but 
had no room to pot off until now. They should have 
been potted off ten clays ago. 52° — 56°. 

1-lth. — Put in cuttings of Chrysanthemums, Phloxes, 
and Lantanas, for plants for next fall and winter sales, 
we find that Chrysanthemum cuttings from healthy stock, 
put in now, make plants large enough for six or seven 
inch pots by October, if properly shifted. 54° — 55°. 



304 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

15th.— The same. 50°— 58°. 

litli. — Budding Roses on Marietta stock, grown in 
three-inch pots. 

18//i. — Potted off Geraniums, etc., etc. As we are 
Tunning short of Egg plants, have put in 2,000 of the 
tops as cuttings, as it is too late to sow seed — but the 
plan is not advised if it can be avoided. 54° — 56°. 

19th. — Potted off Dahlias and Lemon Verbenas. 50° 
—54°. 

20th.— The same. 52°— 56°. 

22nd. — Put in cuttings of Pelargoniums for fall and 
winter stock. 52°— 56°. 

23rd.— The same. 54°— 64°. 

25th. — Potted off Double White Primulas put in on 
the 21st ult., with a loss not exceeding one per cent. 
58°_66°. 

26th. — Planted out stock plants of Petunias, Calceola- 
rias, Pentstemons, etc. 57° — G8°. 

27th. — Planted out Roses in large quantities to-day. 
58°_56°. 

28th. — Shifted winter flowering Roses from three to 
four inch pots. 54°— 60°. 

29th.— The same. 58°— 64°. 

30/7i.— The same. 62°— 68°. Divided and planted 
out Canna roots in open ground, also Dahlias from green 
cuttings together with stock of Coleus,Alternanthera, etc. 

JUNE. 

1st. — Planted out in shallow benches (having four 
inches of soil) stock plants of Roses from four inch pots, 
ten inches apart, these are the plants from which our 
summer propagation of Roses is made. The soil used in 
the benches is good loam, without manure. 62° — 66°. 

2nd. — Potted off cuttings of Egg Plants that were put 
in on the 18th inst. 62°— 66°. 



DIAKY OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR. 305 

3rd. — Potted Chrysanthemums, Phloxes, and Lan- 
tanas, that were put in on the 14th ult, G0° — 64°. 

4th — Continued to put in Dahlia cuttings. 64° — 68°. 

htli. — Planted out our collection of hardy Herbaceous 
Plants. G6°— 70°. 

6th. — Shaded all glass very slightly by syringing it with 
Naptha and White Lead; using only enough to sprinkle 
it like rain drops, over such plants as Roses. 68° — 72°. 

8th. — Topped Carnation plants that were planted out 
on April 2nd, to keep them dwarf and bushy. 60° — 64°. 

9th. — Potted off Roses, Dahlias and double White Prim- 
roses. 62°— 66°. 

10th. — Repotted stock plants of Double White Prim- 
roses. They are kept under glass during summer, and 
rather lightly shading the glass from May 1st to Novem- 
ber 1st, heavier shading being given during the months 
of July and August. 54°— 60°. 

11th. — Shifted the Lemon Verbenas that were potted 
on May 13th from two inch to three and four inch pots, 
in which they will remain all summer. Shifted Caladiums 
potted May 1st into three and foiir inch pots. 64° — G8°. 

12th. — Washed the soil entirely from the roots of stock 
Pelargoniums, which have been exhausted by excessive 
cutting for propagation, and potted in a size smaller pots. 
66°— 68°. 

13th. — Planted out Bouvardias in open ground, at a 
distance of nine inches each way. G8° — 70°. 

15th. — Finished planting out Roses on benches for 
propagation began on the 1st inst. 64° — 6G°. 

Kith. — Repotted Roses, to be kept in pots during sum- 
mer and fall, to force for flowers in winter. 62° — 66°. 

18th.— Planted out stock Dahlias. 66°— 72°. 

19th. — Have continued budding Roses from May 16th 
to this date with excellent success. 

20th. — Planted out large Roses that had been left un- 
sold. 78°— 82°. 



306 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

22c?. — Still propagating Chrysanthemums largely. 60° 
—62°. 

23d. — First lot of cuttings taken from the Roses planted 
on benches on the 1st. 60°— 72°. 

24/A. — Planted out what remained of stock plants. 58° 
—64°. 

2oth. — Carnations have been much injured by contin- 
ued rains; we observe that they are more susceptible of 
injury from wet than almost any other plant grown, con- 
sequently all soils on which they are planted should be 
well drained, either naturally or artificially. GO — G8. 

26/A. — Shifted Chrysanthemums, Roses, Bouvardias, 
Carnations, Solanums, Geraniums, Primulas, Cyclamens 
and such plants as are being grown for fall flowers or for 
the sale of plants; all are placed in beds outside and ex- 
posed to full sunshine except Primulas, Cyclamens, Cin- 
erarias and similar plants, that we find are benefitted by 
being shaded with the protecting cloth "sashes" — (see 
chapter on Cloth Frames) — or shutters made by tacking 
lath on light frames, at an inch and a half apart. These 
are placed over the plants in bright, hot days, from ten 
to four o'clock. 60°— 66°. 

27th. — Repotted different kinds of plants that are kept 
in pots for winter, such as Chrysanthemums, Eupatori- 
ums, Roses, Poinsettias, Heliotropes, etc. G4° — 76°. 

2'Jth. — Potted off last lot of Pelargonium cuttings, for 
the season. 66°— 74°. 

30//?. — Sowed seeds of Hollyhocks, Carnations, etc. 

JULY. 

1st. — Repotted Roses for winter flowering. Planted out 
Roses from Ave inch pots on benches for winter. See 
chapter on Rose Growing in Winter. 68° — 70°. 

2d. — Potted off Dahlia cuttings, the last for the season; 
later than this, the roots would hardly ripen sufficient lv. 
66°— 68°. 



DIARY OF OPERATIONS TOR THE YEAR. 307 

3d. — Planted out Chrysanthemums on solid greenhouse 
borders, at one foot apart, for fall flowering. Chrysan- 
themum cuttings put in at this date will yet make fine 
young plants to flower in fall, or to keep over for spring 
sales. 72°— 72°. 

Gth. — Shifted Dahlias from two to three-inch pots, where 
they will now remain for the season, care being taken, 
however, to thin out the shoots and lower leaves, to admit 
sufficient air to the roots to ripen the tubers. 72° — 76°. 

1th.— The same. 70°— 70°. 

8th.— The same. 72°— 78°. 

9th.— The same. 74°— 76°. 

10*//.— Shifted Roses for winter flowering. 76°— 80°. 

11th. — Putting in Rose cuttings, largely from stock 
plants, planted in benches in June. 

13*/?. — Topped Carnations, to induce a dwarf growth and 
prevent them from exhausting themselves now by flower- 
ing, as the flowers are required only in winter. 82°-^-88°. 

14*//. — Weather exceedingly hot; nothing done but to 
water the plants and clean up. 76° — 88°. 

15fh. — Planted out Roses from five inch pots on raised 
benches for winter flowering. See chapter on Rose Grow- 
ing in Winter. 80°— 90°. 

16///.— The same. 88°— 88°. 

17///.— The same. 76°— 80°. 

18///.— The same. 88°— 88°. 

20///.— The same. 70°— 74°. 

21s/.— The same. 72°— 72°. 

22d. — Shifted Heliotropes, Chrysanthemums, Roses, 
etc., for winter flowering. 74° — 76°. 

23d.— The same. 72°— 74°. 

24/// — .Putting in Rose cuttings, largely; have had ex- 
cellent success on the first lots, unless in a few cases 
where stock was unhealthy. 72° — 72°. 

25///. — Planted out dry bulbs of Tuberoses on benches, 
in five inches of well-prepared, rich soil; these we expect 



308 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

to flower in December. Every alternate sash is removed 
from the eleven feet wide greenhouse, so that they have 
almost full exposure to the open air. The same plan is 
adopted in those greenhouses where Chrysanthemums are 
now planted out from five inch pots, at one foot apart, 
for fall flowering. 7G°— 80°. 

27th. — Repotted Stevia compacta and other winter- 
blooming plants. 74° — 76°. 

28th. — Layered in two-inch pots Roses of some new 
sorts that are scarce. There is little loss in layering Roses 
if it is done in small pots sunk in the soil. The practice 
is now nearly done away with in all large establishments. 
66°— 74°. 

29th. —The same. 

30th. — Shifted Cyclamens and Primroses, and thinned 
out the Primroses, spreading them over a larger surface, 
to admit air around the pots. 68° — 74°. 

31s/. — Pinched out the points of the shoots of Chrys- 
anthemums that were planted out on the 3d and 25th 
inst., to make them bushy. 70° — 74° 

AUGUST. 

1^. — Second planting of Tuberoses in the manner done 
on the 25th ultimo. Will endeavor to retard this lot by 
keeping the soil as dry as possible, the great object being 
to delay the flowering until January. 72° — 78°. 

3c?. — The same. 

Uh.— The same. 72°— 78°. 

5tli. — To-day we pot dry roots of Tuberoses, placing 
them in a cool shed and keeping them dry. They can 
be thus kept in a shed for ten or t-welve days, after which 
they must be exposed to the open air, but will still be kept 
as dry as possible until they begin to grow. They will be 
thus kept in pots (two roots in a six-inch pot.) until there 
is danger of frost, when they will be planted out in soil 
on the benches as the others are. The object of pot- 



DIARY OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR. 309 

ting them at all is, that their removal to the benches 
can be done without injury to the roots, which could not 
be effected unless they were first potted. If we had 
planted them at once on the bench we do not think we 
could keep them back so well, as by placing them in a 
partially shaded place in the open air. — Cut over for the 
last time this season those Carnations that are wanted to 
produce flowers in December and January. 70° — 7G°. 

6th. — Shifted winter-Hovering plants of all kinds. 
Began to withhold water from Hybrid Roses grown in 
pots, so that they can be started in October, to flower in 
January. See Rose Growing in Winter. 70° — 78°. 

1th. — Removed Hybrid Tea Roses, such as Bennett, 
La France and American Beauty, that have been grown 
in eight-inch pots, outside in open air, to the shelter of 
the greenhouse. 70°— 76°. 

8th. — Continued to put in large lots of Rose cuttings, 
from stock plants grown in benches. 72° — 74°. 

10th. — Potted off cuttings, and shifted into larger pots, 
Chrysanthemum laciniatum (the winter-flowering vari- 
ety). 72°— 76°. 

lith. — Continued to pinch back late kinds of Chrysan- 
themums. 74°— 78°. 

mh.— The same. 60°— 64°. 

lWi. — Put in green cuttings of Bouvardia, Cissus, etc. 
54°— 60°. 

lUh. — Shifted for the last time this season Roses that 
are to be used for winter flowering. 55° — 62°. 

15th. — Put in largely, at this date, cuttings of the 
leading kinds of Alternantheras; it is most important to 
do so now, if a large stock is wanted as, unless under very 
high temperature, this plant cannot, be grown, so that it 
can be propagated in winter. It is easily propagated in 
May, but it is then too late. 

17th. — Shifted Eupatoriums, Stevias, Poinsettias, and 
other winter-flowering plants,for the last time this season. 



310 PRACTICAL FLOKIC'ULTUPtE. 

The next shifting will be from the pots to planting out in 
the benches. 66°— 74°. 

18th. — Washed the soil from the roots of Roses that 
have become "pot bound," and repotted in new pot.T 
with fresh soil. This practice we find very effectual to 
recuperate all plants that have been stunted by any cause 
whatever. 64°— 72°. 

19th. — Topped Bouvardias, to keep them dwarf and 
delay the flowering until the winter months. 70° — 80°. 

20th. — Put in cuttings of Abutilons, Begonias, Hibis- 
cus, Moonflowers, Passiiioras, Salvias, Trapaeolums, Ivy, 
Geraniums and several assortments of bedding plants; 
also cuttings of Crotons, Dracenas and tropical plants 
grown inside. 75° — 72°. 

21s*. —The same. 72°— 70°. 

22^.— The same. 68°— 70°. 

24th. — Put in green cuttings of Bouvardias, Cissus, 
Clerodendrons, and other plants of a tropical nature. 
(Mote. — September 5th. This resulted successfully). 
70°— 76°. 

25th. — Cut down stock plants of Pelargoniums, and 
put in the shoots as cuttings. The Pelargoniums have 
been kept under glass all summer, slightly shaded, and 
have ripened their shoots finely, so that, no doubt, nearly 
every cutting will grow. Great difficulty is always found 
with the rooting of Pelargoniums that have been planted 
out. The cut down plants will, of course, receive no 
water until they begin to grow. 68° — 74°. 

26th. — Stirred up the surface of the Eose benches to 
the depth of about one inch. 68°— 74°. 

27th. — Repotted Poinsettia-, Heliotrope, Eupatorium 
elegans, and stock plants of Lantanas, for the last time 
until they are placed in winter quarters. 64° — 72°. 

28th. — Shook out and overhauled stock Fuchsias that 
have been injured by exposure outdoors to heavy rains. 
72°_75° # 



DIARY OF OPERATIONS FOJtt THE YEAR. 311 

29th. — Cut back and top dressed Verbenas, to induce 
healthy growth of cuttings. See chapter on Verbena. 

7o°— :i°. 

31st. — Cut down stock Heliotropes and put in the cut- 
tings. 70°— 74°. 

SEPTEMBER. 

1st. — Potted off cuttings of new Bouvardias that were 
put in on the 13th instant, only about one-half of which 
have rooted, owing to too high a temperature. 72° — 80°. 

2d. — Shifted Roses thus early, so that they may become 
sufficiently rooted in the pots to force for winter flowers. 
65°— 70°. 

3d. — Cut back Petunias, shrubby Calceolarias, etc., to 
produce young shoots for cuttings, which they will do by 
the end of the month. The hard growth of the flowering 
shoots, or even the ordinary growth of the blind shoots 
made in summer, is too hard for the purpose. See the 
necessary condition of the cutting in chapter on Propaga- 
tion. 56°— 60°. 

4th. — Continued to stir up the surface of the Rose 
benches. 50°— 61°. 

5th. — Lilted and potted Bouvardias from the open 
ground and placed them against a north wall outdoors. 
Careful attention is necessary in shading and watering 
until they begin to root. 55° — 58°. 

7th. —The same. 64°— 62°. 

8th. — Put in cuttings of Mrs. Pollock and other Golden 
tricolored Geraniums in propagating house. The propa- 
gation of all classes of Geraniums will be continued 
from the plants growing outdoors, from now to the end 
of the month. The plants of such as are wanted for stock 
are lifted and potted, as soon as cut down for cuttings. 
G0°— Gl°. 



312 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

CHAPTER LVII. 
THE CULTURE OF GRAPE VINES UNDER GLASS. 

In the previous editions of this work I have included 
a chapter on Hothouse Grape Culture, and though it is 
outside of the legitimate scope of the book, yet I have 
found that not only are quite a number of florists them- 
selves, (particularly in the vicinity of the large summer 
resorts), find it profitable to combine the growing of 
Grapes with their flower business, and in addition, in 
many sections of the country the patrons of the florists 
often desire to add a Grapery to their establishment, and 
look to the florist for information on this subject, which 
he does not often possess. 

It is many years since I have had personal experience 
in the growing of grapes under glass, and this was so 
limited that I feel incompetent to do justice to the subject, 
even in the short treatise that my restricted space here 
will permit. For this reason I have called in the assist- 
ance of my life-long friend, Mr. Hugh Wilson, of Salem, 
Mass., whose knowledge of the subject is, perhaps, equal 
to that of any one in this country. 

THE LOCATION OF THE VINERY. 

As with all glass structures, the vinery should, when- 
ever practicable, be in a situation sheltered from the 
north and west, and if the ground is gently sloping to- 
wards the south-east so much the better, 

THE BORDER 

or soil in which the vines are to be planted, is an all im- 
portant matter. It is rarely that the natural soil is of 
6uch a character as would serve the purpose, and hence, 
in nearly every case, it is nesessary to prepare the ma- 



CULTURE OF GRAPE VINES UNDER GLASS. D 13 

teriala for the " border. " The usual rule laid down is, 
to take of the top spit (or spade's depth), from an old 
pasture, as the main material of the border — say three 
parts; lime rubbish, charcoal, scrapings from a paved 
street, or oyster shells broken up, one part ; rotted stable 
manure one part, with perhaps one ton of crushed bones 
added to every twenty tons of this border compost. 
Something depends upon the soil of the pasture from 
which the top spit is taken; if it is a heavy, adhesive loam, 
more in proportion of the lime rubbish or street scrapings 
should be added, as it is all important that when the or- 
ganic substances of the manure or fibers of the sod are 
rotted away, that the material forming the border should 
not become sodden or solid, so that it would be retentive 
of water and impervious to air. For this reason, when 
choice can be made, the pasture from which this turfy top 
spit is taken, should be of ashaly or calcareous character. 
If the whole material for the border can be prepared a 
year before using so much the better ; let it be repeated- 
ly turned so as to mix the different ingredients thorough- 
ly. This is not indispensable, however, as we have often 
used the compost fresh with nearly as good results. 

THE EXCAVATION FOR THE BORDER 

should be made from 16 to 20 inches deep, and of the 
width of the grapery itself ; that is, if the grapery is a 
span roof, 20 feet wide — the border on each side should 
not be made less than 10 feet wide to begin with — and in 
two or three years should be extended to double that 
width. If the house is a "lean to, " 15 or 20 feet outside. 
For a span roof, make it the same distance on each side 
outside. Above everything, it is indispensable that this 
excavation be thoroughly drained — it should be formed 
so that the bottom slopes about one foot in twenty to the 
outside of the border, and there a drain should be placed of 
sufficient capacity as to quickly carry off all surplus from 



314 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

the rains that may fall on the border. Perhaps the safest 
and simplest plan to prevent the roots getting through 
into the cold subsoil is to cement the bottom of this ex- 
cavation. One inch of thickness of cement is enough. 
When this is done the border material may be thrown in, 
filling it up five or six inches higher than tha general 
level to allow for settling. Be careful never to handle 
the materials for the border in wet weather. 

OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE VINERY 

little may be here said, as there are now architects in 
every large city, fully competent to give plans. I will 
simply say that for early forcing, or perhaps in all 
graperies where artificial heat is used, the lean-to or one- 
sided structure is preferable, or what is more sightly and 
will answer equally well, is the two-third span green- 
house now considered the best model for Rose forcing. 
(See Greenhouse Structures.) While for cold graperies, 
or those not heated artificially, the curvilinear or span- 
roofed is the best. (See Green-house Structures.) The 
'Mean-to" or "two-third span" may be 18 or 20 feet 
wide, and of any desired length, giving a length of rafter 
from 20 to 24 feet. When the curvilinear span for cold 
vineries are used, the base width may be 25 feet, which 
will give about 15 feet of rafter on each side. 

PLANTING THE VINE. 

Amateurs planting graperies, commonly desire to pro- 
duce vines that are two or three years old, but such as 
have had much experience with stocking new graperies, 
know that a one-year-old vine that is well ripened, better 
answers the purpose than those of greater age; in fact it 
is a question whether a vine started from an eye in Feb- 
ruary or March, and planted in June, will not by Sep- 
tember make as fine a cane as one of any greater age. 
As such vines are not very easily transportable or even 
procurable at all by beginners, the best thing they can do 



CULTURE OF GRAPE VINES UNDER GLASS. 315 

is to procure well-grown one-year-old vines and plant 
them in spring, but not too early — say May in this lati- 
tude, or just when their buds are beginning to start if 
kept, as they should have been, in a cool place. It is 
best to shake the soil from the ball of the young vines 
that have been grown in pots, although the disentangle- 
ment or spreading of the roots, to which so much im- 
portance is by some attached, is of no consequence. In 
planting it has ever been my practice to set the roots out- 
side, drawing the tops through the apertures formed in 
the wall, a little higher than the border inside the house 
(if there is one). The distance apart at which the vines 
should be planted is three feet. Strong galvanized wire 
should be run horizontally fifteen inches across the rafters 
and fifteen inches from the glass, on which to train the 
vines. 

I may here state to such as may object to outside 
planting for hot house or forcing graperies, that I have 
grown vines so planted for twenty years in succession, and 
never failed to have a satisfactory crop. And do not 
think it of any importance to prepare borders inside of 
the house where the exclusion of the light when the 
vines are in full leaf, must render the value of the roots 
inside of but little importance. In early forcing of 
course, sufficient leaves or manure must be used to cover 
the border to exclude all frost. 

Firing begun about the first of February. But for 
earlier forcing, say that beginning in December or 
January, it is necessary to heat such a border by the 
use of hot mauure or leaves, which must be in sufficient 
depth to ferment ; and it must be covered with boards in 
winter so as to throw off rain. The treatment of 

VINES THE FIRST SEASON 

is very simple, presuming they have been planted in May 
and were cut back to two or three buds inside the front 



316 PRACTICAL FLOBICULTUItE. 

wall. Select the strongest growth from one of these 
buds, tying it to the wires as it grows, and pinching off 
to one leaf the laterals or side shoots which it will throw 
out above the first joint, until it reaches the top of the 
house, after which let it revel at will. 

THE SECOND SEASON. 

After planting, this single shoot or cane should be cut 
down to the foot of the rafter, from which a shoot will 
be allowed to grow as on the previous season. Vines are 
not allowed to fruit in their first year's growth. When 
the vines, however, are strong and well ripened, instead 
of cutting them down as above stated, I have adopted the 
following plan of fruiting the shoot, with good success: 

On well-grown vines the shoot or cane will be well 
ripened, seven or eight feet from bottom of the rafter; 
this shoot is " layered " by being twisted once round (in 
order to check the flow of sap), in a twelve-inch pot, 
which is filled up with vine border compost; roots will 
be emitted from this "layer" sufficient to sustain and 
mature the fruit, and as good a shoot will grow from be- 
loiv the layer as if it had been cut down, as is usually 
done; and if the young cane has been Avell matured the 
previous season, a good crop will be secured with no in- 
jury to the part of the vine relied on for permanent use. 
The layer after fruiting may be thrown away or cut off 
and used as a plant. 

[The plan is often adopted by those planting new gra- 
peries to use the space that otherwise would be useless by 
fruiting vines in pots, so that from the first erection of 
the grapery, fruit can be obtained. Such vines are spe- 
cially prepared for this purpose and can usually be ob- 
tained from those who make a specialty of growing hot- 
house grape vines. They should be such as are grown in 
ten-inch pots, and should have the canes thoroughly 
ripened, and not less than an inch in circumference. 



CULTURE OF GRAPE VINES UNDER GLASS. 317 

Such shoots should be cut back to four or five feet, and 
be allowed to bear from four to eight pounds of grapes, 
according to their strength. They should be fruited in 
the pots in which they are grown; not shifted; but when 
well started into growth, may be fed with manure water. 
Such vines cost from two and a half dollars to five dollars 
each, according to size. The Black Hamburg is the best 
to use for this purpose. — P. H.] 

THE THIRD SEASON. 

At the pruning of the ripe wood, instead of cutting the 
vine down to a third of its length, or five feet on a fifteen 
foot rafter, I think it preferable to leave two-thirds, and 
if the vine is strong and well-matured it will break freely, 
but allow it to bear only a light crop. By doing this, I 
have found the strength of the vine better equalized, as 
a strong vine when shortened to five feet, is apt to make 
a stronger growth on the following season, leaving the 
lower part comparatively weak. 

THE FOURTH SEASON. 

A full crop may be taken, which should be about 
eighteen or twenty pounds to each rafter of fifteen feet in 
length. 

TRAINING THE VINE. 

In this short series I will confine myself to the "spur 
system," which is the easiest to be comprehended by those 
beginning the culture of the vine. It is done in this way: 
presuming that the vine has reached its "third season," 
and has been cut back to say ten feet from the foot of the 
rafter, the cane is allowed to branch or spur at each 
joint or eye, a shoot from the upper part of the cane is 
allowed to run to the top of the house, which completes 
the length of the cane. The side shoots, or bearing wood, 



318 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

are cut back, or spurred to one eye. The vine is now 
complete. The upper part will bear its first crop on its 
next season's growth; the bearing wood when next pruned 
will be cut back as before to one eye, and so ou annually 
the side branches or bearing wood to be cut back to one 
eye, the bunches of fruit being borne on the spurs annu- 
ally. 

IN FORCING VINERIES. 

The temperature to start with should be from fifty to 
fifty-five degrees at night, with a day temperature of ten 
or fifteen degrees higher, increasing ten degrees when the 
buds are fairly broken, which will be in about a month 
from time of starting; in six or seven weeks more, the 
fruit will be set and the temperature may be raised ten 
degrees more, and so continued. Next in importance to 
temperature is 

MOISTURE. 

The vine luxuriates in what gardeners call a "tropical 
atmosphere," and during the whole period of its growth, 
particularly in our arid climate, the grapery should be 
copiously syringed twice a day with water of the temper- 
ature of the house, until the first young leaves are formed. 
Besides this, evaporating pans placed on the pipes should 
at all times be kept full of water. In cold vineries, where 
there are no pipes, water should be freely dashed all over 
the floor; this necessity for moisture occurs during the 
whole period of the growth of the vine until the fruit is 
beginning to ripen, except that at the time the vines are 
in flower, it must be discontinued, as a dry atmosphere 
is best fitted for the proper fertilizing action of the pol- 
len. I have long believed the cause of 

RUST ON THE GRAPE, 

Is an excess of moisture at the time of the " setting" 
of the fruit; the " flower,"' the (nip of petals, instead of 



CULTURE OF GRAPE VINES UNDER GLASS. 319 

dropping off "will, iu a moist atmosphere, adhere to the 
forming berry, and while being forced off by the growth 
of the latter, it leaves its impression on the tender skin^ 
which increases in size as the berry grows and results in 
the well known mark on the matured fruit called from 
its appearance "rust." 

It is a good plan to jar the wire or trellis to which the 
vines are tied, when they are in ilower, so as to cause a 
movement of the pollen through the house. This will be 
found to greatly assist in "setting" the fruit of such 
varieties as Muscat of Alexandria, which does not some- 
times set freely. 

THINNING. 

Only one bunch of grapes should be left on each 
spur or shoot, if large bunches are desired. The 
berries should be thinned when they are not larger 
than peas ; if left until the bunches are crowded, the 
process of thinning is not only much slower but the 
berries are more apt to be bruised. I have long been 
guided in thinning grapes by the fact (and one I think 
not generally noticed), that the flowers of the grape are 
produced in sets of three. In cases where each of the 
three flowers form a berry, two may be safely cut out in 
thinning; but in many instances two only are formed, 
and sometimes only one, which the operator must take 
into consideration in thinning. With large clusters it is 
necessary to cut away entirely from the heart of the bunch 
many of these sets of three alluded to. The large bunches 
of some of the varieties ought to be "shouldered," that 
is, the shoulders, or loose and overhanging portions of 
the clusters, are to be tied up from the main body of the 
bunch, giving opportunity for fuller development. This 
is especially necessary with Hamburgs and Muscats. 



320 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 

SUMMER PRUNING 

Should commence just before the vines are in flower. 
The shoot may be shortened to one joint above the 
bunch intended to be left. The laterals which grow be- 
low the bunch must be rubbed off, while that which 
grows by the bunch and above it is to be left and short- 
ened to one joint. When the laterals have again made a 
few leaves they need to be again shortened in the same 
way, all through the season while the vine continues to 
grow. 

MULCHING THE BORDER 

Is always beneficial if not indispensable to the well- 
being of the grapery, not only to protect the roots from 
being frozen in winter, but also because when such fer- 
tilizing materials as stable manure is used, the roots are 
drawn to the surface of the border, which greatly con- 
duces to the health of the vine and the quality of the 
fruit. 

PROTECTING THE VINES IN COLD GRaPERIES 

Is of great benefit. About the simplest way to do so 
is to run a board along eighteen inches or so from the 
front wall. After pruning the vines (which may be done 
at any time after they drop their leaves), they are to be 
taken down from the wires and laid down between this 
boarding and the front wall, and the space entirely filled 
up with soil or sand. It is necessary, though, to watch 
that ground mice do not get to the vines, as they might 
destroy them by eating the bark. We have found that 
vines so covered up keep admirably, and that the plan is 
less, liable to draw vermin than when they are covered 
with straw or hay. They are usually covered up about 
the middle of December, and are not uncovered or other- 
wise disturbed until the first of May, when they are lifted 



CULTURE OF GRAPE VINES UNDER GLASS. 321 

up and tied to the wires, and started as before described. 
In cases where it is not practicable to cover with sand or 
soil, the vines can be laid down snugly along the front 
wall and covered up with mats or bagging; but in either 
manner of covering up the grapery must be freely venti- 
lated during the warm part of the day, unless in ex- 
tremely cold weather. 

VARIETIES. 

The varieties that I consider to be best suited for a 
cold vinery of fifty feet in length, requiring twenty-one 
permanent vines, would be: twelve Black Hamburgs, two 
White Frontignac, two Forster's White Seedling, two 
Purple Constantia, two Muscat Hamburg, one Eoyal 
Ascot. 

For Vines for Forcing. — Ten Black Hamburg, two 
Grizzly Frontignac, two Victoria Hamburg, two Golden 
Hamburg, one Buckland Sweetwater, two Muscat of 
Alexandria, two Cannon Hall Muscat; the last two at 
hottest end. 

I regret the necessity of being compelled to compress 
these notes into so limited a space, being well aware that 
many of the points alluded to should have been more 
fully treated. But I trust what has been said may be of 
some benefit in guiding beginners who are entirely with- 
out any knowledge of grape culture under glass. To the 
experienced grape-grower it contains few facts but those 
he already knows, and is, no doubt, wanting in many that 
he is familiar with. 



INDEX. 



Baskets for Packing. - - -264 

Baskets of Flowers 320 

Bouquets, Making of 217 

Bulbs for Winter Flowers 175 

Calendar of Operations 282 

Cellars for Winter Protection.. 72 
Chimneyp, Danger of Wooden.. 87 
City or Village'Lot, Design for. 81 
Cold Frames —Winter Protec- 
tion - 91 

Colors, Nature's Law of 256 

Conservatory Attached to Dwell- 
ing—Heating 104 

Cuttings, Dablia 132 

Fungus of the Bench 126 

Medium for.. 124 

Plants Propagated from 120 

Potting of 125 

Proper Condition of 121 

Root 123 

Temperature for. - 124 : 

Time Required to Root 127 

"Ventilation of 125 

Where to Cut 122 

Dahlia Cuttings - - - -133 

Designs in Stiaw, Willow and 

Wire for Floral Work . .236 

Decoration of Rooms 213 

Diary of Operations ~82 

For January 2J4 

" February 296 

" March.- 398 

« April 300 

" Mav ...-302 

" June 304 

« July — - 306 

" August 308 

» September 282-311 

" October .' 286 

" November -289 

" December 292 

Diseases Affecting Plants 267 

Drainage in Pots 68 

Dryness, Degrees of ou 

Dwellings, Greenhouses Attach- 

ed to - ?8 

"Excelsior " Packing Material. 26d 
Expert Gar '.en Workmen 69 

(322) 



Floriculture, The Profits of 19 

Florist, How to Become a 9 

Flower Baskets 220 

Flower Beds, Designs for 48-54 

In, or at Junction of Walks 45 

The Planting of 46 

Flower Garden, Designs for 31 

Design for 39 

Laying out the 30 

Flowers, What, Will Grow in 

Shade 259 

Flues, Building of 86 

Foliage, Plants for 211 

Funeral Designs 227 

Fungus of the Cutting Bench. .126 

Garden, Aspect and Soil 22 

Workmen, Expert 69 

Gardening as a Business 10 

Begin Moderately 14 

How to Begin 10 

Grape Vines. See Vineries. 
Grape Vines, Culture of, Under 

Glass .J 312 

Greenhouse, A Very Simple 89 

Heating by Both Flue and 

Pipes 79 

Heating by Hot Water 77 

Plants 215 

Structures 76 

Succession Crops in 261 

Greenhouses, Attached to Dwell- 
ings 88 

Base-burning Water Heater 103 

Cheap, How to Heat 83 

"Cloth" Instead of Glass 

for - --- 90 

Costof 88 

Construction of Walls 97 

Glass, Glazing and Shading 98 

Heating by Flues 83 

Heating by Steam 101 

Mod. sol Heating- 100 

Of Three-quarter Span 94 

Upon a Slope 9"> 

Hanging Baskets— 310 

Heating with Return Flue 84 

Hotbeds, Con traction of- - 74 
Insects Attacking Plants 207 



INDEX. 



323 



Insects, Diseases, Etc 267 

Angle Worms 279 

Ants 278 

Aphis, Aphides 270 

Mack 272 

Blue ...270 

Green 271 

Aramigus Fullerii 269 

Black Aphis 272 

Black Rust on Verbena 276 

Blue Aphis.. 270 

Carnation Twitter. .277 

European Sparrow 268 

Fly, Green 271 

Green Fly... 271 

Macrodactylis subspinosa. . .269 

Mealy Bug ..276 

Mildew 280 

Mite, Verbena 274 

Pyrethrum, for Insects 268 

Red Soider 272 

Rose Bug 269 

Rose Bug of Greenhouse. . .269 

Rose Slug 267 

Scale Insects, Brown and 

White —276 

Selandria rosce 267 

Slug, Rose 267 

Slugs 278 

Snails —278 

Soap, Whale-oil. 267 

Spider, Red 2?2 

Sulphide of Calcium for Mil- 
dew ..281 

Thrips ..277 

Tobacco for Insects 271 

Verbena, Black Rust of 276 

Mite 274 

Whale-oil Soap 267 

White Hellebore for In- 
sects 268 

Worms, Angle 279 

Lawn, Fertilizer ior 28 

On a Sloping Bank 26 

Secdfor. 27 

Weeds in 29 

Lawns, Preparation for New... 24 

Reno ration of Old 29 

Layering in the Air 133 

Lond< ii, Window Gardening in 246 
Mail, Sending Plants by.. ..-..265 

Moisture and Temperature 57 

Packing, Baskets for 264 

In Europe 264 

Material, " Excelsior " 263 

Plants 263 

Parlor Gardening 242 

Plants, Are Thev Injurious to 

Health.: 252 



Plants by Mail 265 

Packing of .263 

Plants Sold in Spring 1 51 

Auriculas 152 

Cowshps 152 

Daisies.. 151 

Forget-Me-Nots 152 

Myosotis - 152 

Pansies 151 

Primroses 151 

Plants injured by Forcing 254 

Potting of - - - 63 

To be Raised from Seeds. ..119 

Plants : 

Alyssum, Sweet 200 

Ampelopsis tricuspidaia 117 

" Veitchii 117 

Antirrhinum 114 

Asparagus, Climbing 212 

Asparagus tcnuissimus 212 

Aster -117 

Azaleas 203 

Balsams ..118 

Double -197 

Begonias, sorts 198 

Bermuda Lily .182 

Bignon ia jasminoides 200 

pen usta .200 

Bouvardias 195 

Calceolaria . . - 118 

"CallaLily" 180 

Camellias. 208 

Canna Indica 114 

Carnation 118 

Carnations for winter flow- 
ering 193 

Centaurea 117 

Chinese Primrose 208 

Chrysanthemums, early 192 

For cut flowers 191, 192 

Late -192 

Cineraria 117, 113 

Voba?a scandens 114 

Coleus 115 

Daffodils -170 

Ddpli in iurn 117 

Dianthus 116 

Easter Lily... 182 

Ericas ....204 

Eucharis 209 

Eupatoriums 1 96 

Euphorbia jacquiniflora 198 

splcndens 193 

Ferns 212 

Climbing 212 

Ferneries 249 

Frt esia refract a alba 185 

• Fuchsias 199 



324 



PKACTICAL FLORICULTURE, 



Plants : 

Geraniums 208 

Apple scented 212 

Lemon scented 222 

Rose scented. -122 

Zonale 115 

Health, Are Plants Injuri- 
ous to? 254 

Heaths .204 

Heliotropes 197 

Hot-house Plants .216 

Indian Shot 114 

Jasminum 199 

Lantana ..115 

Larkspur 117 

Lilium Jlarrisi 182 

Lily, Bermuda 182 

Easter.. 182 

Of the Amazon 209 

Of the Nile .185 

Of the Valley 180 

Lobelia 115 

Lygodiam scandens .212 

Mignonette 200 

Myrsiphyllum asparagoides _217 
Narcissus, Incomparable, 

Double 176 

Narcissus Trumpet Major. 176 

Nature's Law of Colors 256 

Orchids 204 

Pansy 115 

Petunia.. 116 

Poinsettia 198 

Polyanthus Narcissus 176 

Primrose, Chinese 208 

Primula 118 

Pyrethrum, Golden 117 

Itichardia sElhiopica 185 

Roman Hyacinths, four 

kinds 180 

Sage, Scarlet 116 

Salvia splendcns 116 

Scarlet Sage... 116 

Smilax 217 

Snap-Dragon ...114 

iStevias 196 

Stove Plants 216 

Sweet Alyssum 200 

Tropacolam 209 

Tuberoses - 185 

Tuberose, "the Pearl'' 186 

Tulips 179 

Verbena 1 16 

Violets as winter flowers. .189 

Zonale Geraniums 1 15 

Pots, Drainage in 08 

Potting of Plants 63 

Soils for.. 54 

Prices, Abroad and at Home... 15 



Profits of Floriculture 19 

Propagation, The Saucer Sys- 
tem ' 129 

Of Plants by Seeds 106 

Soft-wooded Plants in Sum- 
mer ...131 

" Protecting Cloth " for Frames 73 

Roads and Walks 37-38 

Rockwork 250 

Rooms, Decoration of ..213 

Plants for 214 

Root Cuttings 123 

Rosebuds in Summer. 172 

Roses, Diseases and Insects Af- 
fecting 173 

Roses, Distance to Plant 161 

Forcing 157 

Garden Culture of 170 

Growing in Winter ...155 

Houses for 156 

Hybrid Perpetuals 165 

Hybrid Perpetuals in Solid 

Beds 167 

Layering in Pots 140 

Mildew 'Attacking the 167 

Propagation by Cuttings. .. 135 
Propagation by Grafting 

and Budding 141 

Propagation by Layering... 139 
Propagation in the South- 
ern States 139 

Pruning. 163 

Shading the House. 170 

Soil and Benches 160 

Solid Beds and Raised 

Benches 156 

The Rose-bug of the Green- 
house 168 

Varieties to Force 163 

Ventilation of Houses 100 

Watering and Mulching... 161 
Saucer Syst< m with Cuttings. .127 
Seeds, Flowers Best Grown 

from 114 

What Varieties Come True 

From?.... 110 

Shade, What Flowers Grow in. 259 

Soils for Potting 54 

Spring, Plants Most in Demand, 

etc ...143 

Fancy Pelargoniums 147 

Other Plants 147 

Roses 144 

Zonal Geraniums H5 

Succession Crops in Green- 
houses 201 

Summer, Propagating Soft- 
Wooded Plants in.. ..131 

Temperature and Moisture 57 



INDEX. 



:325 



Vernndas, Plants for .214 

Verbena, Culture of 148 

The "Rust" in _150 

Vinery, The Border 313 

Forcing Vineries 318 

Location 312 

Moisture in _318 

Mulching the Border 320 

Planting the Vines 314 

Protecting the Vine 320 

Rust on the Grape 318 

Summer Pruning 319 

Thinning 319 

Training the Vine. ...317 

Varieties of Grapes 321 

Vines, The First Season. -.315 



Vinery— Vines, The Second Sea- 
son 316 

The Third Season 317 

The Fourth Season 317 

Wardian Cases 249 

Wide Greenhouses for Bedding 
Plants and Rose Grow- 
ing 93 

Window Decorations, Plants in 

Demand for.. _153 

Window Gardening 242 

In London 1 76 

Winter Flowering Plants. 154 

Winter Protection, Cellar for.. 72 
Cold Frames 71 



Alphabetical Catalogue 



0. Judd Co., Dayid W. Judd, Pres't, 

< • ** \ ■ ^PUBLISHERS AND IMPORTERS OF e^^r-V^ 

All Works pertaining to Rural Life. 

751 IBroa,ca.-wa-3r, ISTe-w "STork:. 



i aicii and <- ae;im:\. 

Allen, R. L. and L. F. New American Farm Book $ 2.50 

American Farmer's Hand Book 2.50 

Asparagus Culture. Fiex.cioth 50 

Bamford,C. E. SilkCulture. Paper 3() 

Barry P. The Fruit Garden. New anil Revised Edition 2.00 

Bommer. Method of Making Manures 25 

Brackett. Farm Talk. Paper50c. Cloth 75 

Brill. Farm-Gardening and Seed-Growing 1.00 

— — Cauliflowers 20 

Broom-Corn and Brooms. Paper 50 

Curtis on Wheat Culture. Paper 50 

Emerson and Flint. Manual of Agriculture 1.50 

Farm Conveniences 1.50 

Farming for Boys • 1.33 

Farming for Profit 3.T5 

FitZ. Sweet Potato Cull tire. New and Enlarged Edition. Cloth (SO 

Flax Culture. Paper 30 

French. Farm Drainage 1.50 

Fuller, A. S. Practical Forestry 1.50 

Propagation of Plants 1.50 

G regory . ° n Cabbages SO 

. On Carrots, Mangold Wnrtzels, etc 30 

On Fertilizers 40 

On Or.ion Raising 30 

On Squashes 30 

Harris Joseph. Gardening for Young and Old 1.25 

_ Talus on Manures. New ami Revised Edition... 1.75 



0. JUDD CO. S ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE. 



Henderson, Peter. Gardening for Pleasure 1.50 

Gardening for Profit. New and Enlarged Edition. 2.00 

Garden and Farm Topics 1.50 

— Hand Book of Plants 3.00 

Practical Floriculture. New and Eularged Edition. .. . 1.50 

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Hop Culture. New and Revised Edition. Paper 30 

Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening. Vols. I., II. and 

111. Each 5.00 

Johnson, M. W. How to Plant. Paper 50 

Johnson, Prof. S. W. How Crops Feed 2.00 

How Crops Grow 2.00 

Jones, B. W. The Peanut Plant. Paper 50 

Lawn Planting. Paper 25 

Leland. Farm Homes, In -Doors, and Out-Doors. New Edition 1.50 

Long Elias A. Ornamental Gardening for Americans 2.00 

Morton. Farmer's Calendar 5.00 

NichoiS. Chemistry of Farm and Sea 1.25 

Norton. Elements of Scientific Agriculture "5 

Oemler. Truck-Farming at the South 1.50 

Onions. How to Raise them Profitably 20 

Our Farm of Four Acres. Paper 30 

Pabor Wm. E. Colorado as an Agricultural State 1.5(1 

Parsons. On the Rose 1.50 

Pedder. Land Measurer for Fanners. Cloth 60 

Plant Life on the Farm 1.00 

Quinn. Money in the Cat dun 1.50 

Riley. Potato Pests. Taper 50 

Robinson. Facts for Farmers ,.. 5.00 

Roe. Play and Profit in my Garden 1.50 

Roosevelt. Five Acres Too Much 1.50 

Sheehan, Jas. Your Plants. Paper 40 

SilOS and Ensilage- New sind Enlarged Edit* on 50 

Starr. Farm Echoes 1.00 

Stewart. Irrigation for the Farm, Garden and Orchard 1.50 

Ten Acres Enough 1-M 

The Soil of the Farm 100 

Thomas. Farm Implements and Machinery 1.50 

Tim Bunker Papers; or, Yankee Farming 1.50 

Tobacco Culture. Paper 25 

Treat. Injurious Insects of the Farm and Garden 2.00 

Ville. School of Chemical Manures 1.25 

High Farming without Manures 25 

Artificial Manures 6.00 

Waring. Book of the Farm 2.00 

Draining lor Profit and Health 1.50 

Waring. Elements of Agriculture 1.00 

Farmers' Vacation 3.00 

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Sanitary Condition in City and Country Dwellings 50 

Warington. Chemistry of the Farm 1.00 

White. Gardening for the South 2.00 



O. JUDD CO. S ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE. 



FRUITS, FLOWKKS, ETC. 

American Rose Culturist 30 

American Weeds and Useful Plants 

Bailey. Field Notes on Apple Culture 75 

BouSSingault. Rural Economy 1.60 

Chorlton. Grape-Grower's Guide 75 

Collier, Peter. Sorahum. its Culture and Manufacture 3.00 

Common Sea Weeds. Boards 50 

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Rural Essays 3.00 

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Every Woman her own Flower Gardener 1.00 

Fern Book for Everybody 50 

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Illustrated Strawberry Culturist 25 

Small Fruit Culturist. New Edition 1.50 

Fulton. Peach Culture. New and Revised Edition 1.50 

Heinrich. Window Flower Garden 

Hibberd, Shirley. The Amateur's Flower Garden 2.50 

The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory. 2 50 

The Amateur's Rose Book 2.50 

Hoopes. Book of Evergreens 3.00 

Husmann,Prof.Ceo. American Grape growing and Wine Making 1.50 

Johnson. Winter Greeneries at Home 1.00 

SVloore, Rev. J. W. Orange Culture 1.00 

My Vineyard at Lakeview 125 

Origin of Cultivated Plants 175 

Quinn. Pear Culture for Profit. New and Revised Edition 1.00 

Rivers. Miniature Fruit Garden 1.00 

Rixford. Wine Press and Cellar 1.50 

Robinson. Ferns in their Homes and Ours 1.50 

Roe. Success with Small Fruits 2.50 

Saunders. Insects Injurious to Fruits 3.00 

Stewart. Sorghum and Its Products ,..■ 1.50 

Thomas. American Fruit Culturist 2.00 

Vick. Flower and Vegetable Garden. Cloth 1.00 

Webb, Jas. Cape Cod Cranberries. Paper. 40 

White. Cranberry Culture 1.25 

Williams* B. S. Orchid Grower's Manual 0.50 

Wood, Samuel. Modern Window Gardening 1.25 




O. JUDD CO.'S ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE. 

Cattle, Dogs, Horses, Sheep, Swine, Poultry, Etc. 

CATTLE, SHEEP, AI\» SWINE. 

Allen, L. F. American Cattle. New and Revised Edition 2.50 

Armatage, Prof. Ceo. Every Man His Own Cattle Doctor. 8vo.. 7.50 

Armsby. Manual of Cattle Feeding 2o0 

Cattle. The Varieties, Breeding, and Management. 75 

Coburn, F. D. Swine Husbandry. New an d Revised Edition 1.75 

Clok. Diseases of Sheep 1.25 

Dadd, Prof. Ceo. H. American Cattle Doctor. 12mo 1.50 

American Cattle Doctor. 8vo. Cloth 2.50 

Fleming. Veterinary Obstetrics 6.00 

Cuenon. On Milch Cows 1.00 

Harris, Joseph. On the Pig l 50 

Heatley.C.S. Every Man his Own Veterinarian. 12mo i.5i 

Jennings. On Cattle and their Diseases 1.25 

On Sheep, Swine, and Poultry, 1.25 

Jersey, Alderney, and Cuernsey Cow l.so 

Keeping One Cow i.oo 

MacdOnald. Food from the Far West 1.50 

McClure. Diseases of the American Horse, Cattle, and Sheep 1.25 

McCombie, Wm. Cattle and Cattle Breeders 1.50 

Martin, R. B. Hog-Raising and Pork-Making 40 

Miles. Stock Breeding 1.50 

Powers, Stephen. The American Merino for Wool and Mutton. 

A practical anil valuable work 1.50 

Quincy, Hon. Josiah. On Soiling Cattle 1.25 

Randall. E' ne Wool Sheep Husbandry. 1.00 

Practical Shepherd 2.00 

Reasor. OntheHojr 1.50 

Sidney. On the Pig 50 

Sheldon, J. P. Dairy Farming. Being the Theory, Practice and 

Methods of Dairying. With 25 Colored Plates. 4to. Full Gilt 8.00 

Shepherd, Major W. Prairie Experience in Handling Cattle.. . 1.00 

Stewart, Henry. Shepherd's Manual. New and Enlarged Edition.. 1.50 

Stewart, E. W. FeedingAnimals 2.00 

The Sheep. Its Varieties and Management. Boards .. 75 

Willard, A. A. Practical Dairy Husbandry. 8vo. Cloth.... 3.00 

Practical Butter Book. A Complete Treatise on 

Butter-Makin-. 12mo. Cloth 1.00 

Youatt. OnSheep 1.00 



DOGS, ETC. 

Burgess. American Kennel and Spotting Field. 8vo 3.00 

Dog-The Varieties and Management 50 

Dogs of Creat Britain, America, and Other Coun- 
tries, Compiled from Stonehenge and other Standard Writers. The 
most Complete Work ever Published on the Dog. 12mo 2.00 



O. JUDD CO. S ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE. 

Floyd, Wm. Hints on Dog Breaking. 12mo 50 

Forrester, F. The Dog, by Dinks, Mayhew, and Hutchinson. 8vo.. 3.00 

Hallock, C. Dog Fanciers' Directory and Medical Guide. 18mo 25 

Hammond, S. DogTraining. 12mo 1.00 

Hill, J. W. Management and Diseases of the Dog. 12mo 2.00 

Hooper, J. J. Dog and Gun. Paper .30 

Hutchinson, G. N. Dog Breaking. 8vo 3.00 

Idstone. The Dog. Illustrated. 12mo 1.25 

Laverack, E. The Setter. 4to 3.00 

May hew, E. Dogs ; Their Management. 16ino 75 

Points for Judging Different Varieties of Dogs. 

Paper 50 

Richardson. Dogs; Their Origin and Varieties. Pap -r 30c. Cloth .00 

Shaw, T. Vero. Illustrated Book of the Dog. 4 to 8.00 

Stables, Gordon. Our Friend the Dog. Svo 3.00 

Practical Kennel Guide 1.50 

Ladies 1 Dogs as Companions 2.00 

StOnehenge. The Dog in Health and Disease. 8vo.. 3.00 

Dogs of the British Islands. 8vo 6.00 

The Greyhound 5.50 

Youatt. On the Dog. 8vo 2.50 



HORSES, RIl>irVG, ETC. 

Anderson, E. L. Modern Horsemanship. 8vo 7.00 

The Gallop. 4to. Paper 1.00 

Armatage, Geo. Every Man Ili> Own Horse Doctor, together with 

Blaine's Veterinary Art. 8 vo. J morocco 7.50 

Armatage. Ceo. Horse Owner and Stableman's Companion. 12ino 1.50 

Baucher, F. New Method of Horsemanship. ISmo LOO 

Battersby, Col. J. C. The Bridle Bite. A valuable little work 

on horsemanship. Fully illustrated. 12mo 1.00 

Bruce. Stud-Book. 4 vols 35.00 

Chawner, R. Diseases of the Horse and How to Treat Them. 12mo 1.26 

Chester. Complete Trotting and Pacing Record 10.00 

Dadd, G. H. American Reformed Horse Book. 8vo 2.50 

Modern Horse Doctor. 12mo 1.50 

Day, W. The Race Horse in Training. 8vo 6.35 

Du Hays, C. Percheron Horse. New and Revised Edition. 12mo.. 1.00 

Durant. Horseback Riding 1.25 

Famous Horses of America. Cloth. 4to 1.50 

Fleming, George, F. R.,C. V. S. The Practical Horse Keeper. 

12mi i. Cloth 2.00 

CleaSOn, O. R. How to Handle and Educate Vicious Horses 50 

Going J. A. Veterinary Dictionary. 12mo .. 2.00 

Heatley, Ceo. S. Every Man His Own Veterinarian 2.50 

Helm H. T. American Roadsters and Trotting Horses. 8vo 5.00 

Herbert H. W. Hints to Horse Keepers. 12mo 1.75 

Horse The; Its Varieties and Management. Boards 75 

Howden P. How to Buy and Sell the Horse. 12mo 1.00 

Jennings, R. Horse Training Made Easy. 16mo 1.25 

The Horse and His Diseases. 12mo 1.25 



0. JUDD CO.'S ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE. 

Lehndorff, C. Horse Breeding Recollections. Handsomely Illus- 
trated, bvo. Cloth !-35 

Liautard. Chart of Age of Domestic Animals 50 

Animal Castration. 12mo 2 - u0 

Manning. The Illustrated Stock Doctor 500 

Mayhew E. Illustrated Horse Management. 8vo 3.00 

' " Horse Doctor. 8vo 3.00 

McClure R. Diseases of American Horses. 12mo 1-25 

' American Gentleman's Stable Guide. 12mo 1-00 

MiSes W. On the Horse's Pout. 12mo 

Rarey. Horse Tamer and Farrier. 16mo 50 

Riding and Driving -f 

Riley, H. On the Mule. 12mo l -°" 

Russell. Scientific Horse-Shoeing i- 00 

Saddle Horse The. Complete Guide to Riding and Training.... 1.00 

Saunders. Horse Breeding, ia.no 2.00 

Stewart, R. American Farmer's Horse Book. 8vo i uo 

Stonehenge. Every Horse Owner's Cyclopaedia. 8vo 3.75 

On the Horse in tho Stable and the Field. English 

Edition. Svo 3.50 

On the Horse in the Stable and the Field. American 

Edition. 12mo 2.00 

Tellor. Diseases or Live Stock. C[oth, 2.50; Sheep 3 00 

Wallace. American Stud Book. PerVolume 10.00 

Williams. Veterinary Medicine -• 5.00 

Veterinary Surgery ^- 50 

Woodruff. The Trotting Horse in America. 12mo 2.50 

WoOdS, Rev. J. C. Horse and Man 2.50 

Youatt & Skinner. The Horse. 8vo !•> 

Youatt & Spooner. " " ismo loo 



POULTRY ANO BEES. 

Cook Prof. A. J. Bee-Keeper's Guide or Manual of the Apiary.... 1.25 



COOper, DT. J. W^ G.n» Fowls... .... ... ....... 5.00 

1.50 



Corbett. ""poultry Yard and Market. Paper 50 



Felch I K. Poultry Cult m- 

Johnson, C. M.S. Practical Poultry Keeper. Paper .50 

King. Bee-Keeper's Text Book '"" 

LangStroth. On the Honey and Hive Bee «•« 

Pou'ftry Breeding, Rearins, Feeding etc. Boards 

Profits "in Poultry and their Profitable Manage- 

merit. Most complete Work extant - -• '•" 

Ouinby Mysteries ofBee-Keeping Explained (Edited by L. C. Boot). 1.50 

Penwick Thermostatic Incubator. Paper36c. Clorh -5b 

Root, A. I. A. B,C, of Bee-Culture. j-» 

Standard Excellence in Poultry..- ■ ^ 

Stoddard. AnEgg-Farm. Revised and Enlarged •&« 

Wright. Illustrated Book of Poultry »•"" 

_ Practical Poultry-Keeper i *•"" 

> ~~ Practical Pigeon Keeper 



O. JUDD CO.'S ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE. 



Our Sportsman's Books 



AIVGL.ING, FISHl.^O, ETC. 

BurgeSS, J. T. Practical Guide to Bottom Fishing, Trolling, 

Spinuing, Fly, and Sea Fishing. 8vo 50 

Fish Hatching and Fish Catching. By Roosevelt and 

Green, 12ino 1.50 

Forester, F. Fish and Fishing. New Edition. 8vo 2.50 

Fishing with Hook and Line. Paper .25 

FySShe and FySShynge, from the Boke of St. Albans 1.00 

Hamilton, M. D. FlyFishing. 12mo 1.75 

Harris. The Scientific Angler— Foster 1.50 

Henshall, J. A. A Book of the Black Buss. 8vo 3.00 

Keene, J. H. Fly-Fishing and Fly-Making. 12mo. Just Published.. 1.50 

Practical Fisherman. 12mo 4.00 

King, J. L. Tronting on the Brule River. 12mo 1.50 

NorriS, T. American Fish Culture. 12mo 1.75 

American Angler's Book. 8vo 5.50 

OrviS, Charles F. Fishing with the Fly. Crown 8vo 2.50 

Pennell, H. C. Bottom; or, Float Fishing. Boards 50 

Fly-Fishing and Worm-Fishing. Boards 50 

Trolling for Pike, Salmon, and Trout. Boards 50 

Prime. I go a Fishing 2.50 

Random Casts from an Angler's Note Book 50 

ROOSevelt, R. B. Game Fish of the Northern States and British 

Provinces. 12mo 2.00 

Superior Fishing; or. the Striped Bass, Trout, 

Black Bass, and Blue Fisli of the Northern 

States. 12mo. 2.00 

Roosevelt & Creen. Fish Hatching and Fish Catching 1.50 

Slack, J. H. Practical Trout Culture. 12mo.... 1.00 

Scott C. C. Fishing in American Waters. 8vo '..' 2.50 

Walton & Cotton. Complete Angler. 8vo 5.00 

" " Bohn 2.00 

" " Chandos 1.50 

"• " 12mo 80 



B04TIMG, CANOEING ^ \ II I X.. ETC. 

Canoeing in Kanuckia. i2mo 75 

Fellows, H. P. Boating Trips on New England Rivers. 12mo 1.25 

Frazar, D. Practical Boat Sailing. 16mo 1.00 

Henshall, J. A. Camping and Cruising in Florida. 12mo 1.50 

Kemp, Dixon j Manual of Yacht and Boat Sailing (the Standard 

Authority). Royal 8vo. Illustrated 10.00 

Kemp, Dixor. Yacht Designing. Folio 25.00 



O. JUDD CO.'S ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE. 

Kunhardt, D. T. Small Yachts. 4to, U}<< x W/, 7.00 

Prescott, C. E. The Sailing Boat. Himo SO 

Steele T. S. Canoe and Camera. 12mo L50 

Swimming. Routledge 20 



ITI.I.O SPORTS AMD NATURAE HISTORY. 

American Bird Fancier. Enlarged edition 50 

Adams, H. C. Favorite Song Birds 1-50 

Archer, Modern. Paper •-'> 

Bailey. Onr Own Birds 150 

Bird-Keeping. Fully Illustrated 1-50 

Brown. Taxidermy i- 00 

Canary Birds. New ami Revised Edition. Paper, 50c. Cloth 75 

Coues. Key to North American Birds New Edition 7.50 

Cocker. Manual 150 

Edwards. Rabbits 1 '- 5 

Coode and Atwater. Menhaden 2.00 

Holden. BookofBirds 2o 

Lawn Tennis Hand Book 75 

Lucas. Pleasures of a Pigeon Fancier L50 

Packard. Guide to Study of Insaets 5.00 

Half Hour Insects 2 50 

Common Insects 1-50 

Practical Rabbit Keeper 1 - 50 

Swimming, Skating and Rinking ~° 

Van Doren. Fishes of the East Atlantic Coast 1.50 

Warne. Angling. Boards r,(l 

Wilson. American Ornithology. 3 vols 18.00 

Wilson and Bonaparte. American Ornithology, lvol 7.00 



■Itl.VriNCi, SHOOTING, FISHHNO, ETC. 

Adirondacks Guide. Wallace 200 

Amateur Trapper. Boards -75 

Batty, J. H. How to Hunt and Trap. 12m< 1-50 

Practical Taxidermy. 12mo 1.50 

Barber. Crack Shot— the Rifleman's Guide. 12mo 1.25 

BOgardUS, Capt. Field, Cover, and Trap Shooting. 12mo 2.00 

Bumstead. On the Wing J-50 

Dead Shot. A Treatise on the Gun i-* 5 

Farrow. How to Become a Crack Shot. 13mo 1-00 

Forester F. Life and Writings— D. W. Jndd. 2 volumes. 8vo.... 3.00 

' Field Sports. 2 volumes. 8vo 4.00 

Complete Manual for Young Spoilsmen. 8vo 2.00 

American Game in its Season. 8vo 1.50 

Cildersleeve, H. A. Rifles and Markmanship. 12mo 1.50 

Cloan. The Breech-loader 1>25 

Could, J. Wl. How to Camp Out. lOmo 75 



0. JUDD CO. S ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE. 

Creener, W. W. Choke Bore Guns. 8vo 3.00 

The Gum and its Development 2.50 

Gun, Rod, and Saddle. "Ubique" 1.00 

HallOCk. Sportsman's Gazeteer and General Guide— A Treatise on all 
Game and Fish of North America. Instruction in Shooting, Fishing, 
Taxidermy, and Woodcraft, with Directory of Principal Game Re- 
sorts and Maps. New and Revised Edition. 12ino 3.00 

Henderson, H. Practical Hints on Camping. 12mo 1.25 

Lewis, E. J. The American Sportsman. 8vo 2.50 

EVlurray. Adventures in the Wilderness. 12mo 1.25 

Murphy, J. M. American Game Bird Shooting. ISmo 2.00 

Pistoi, The— U°w to Use. ISnio 50 

Prescott, C. E. Practical Hints on Rifle Practice with Military 

Arms 50 

Roosevelt, R. B. Florida, and the Game Water Birds of the Atlan- 
tic Coast and Lakes of the United States. 12ino 2.00 

Samuels. Birds of New England and Adjacent States 4.00 

Shooting on the Wing. 16mo 75 

Smith, George Putnam. The Law of Field Sports 1.00 

Stonehenge. Rural Sports— The Standard Encyclopaedia of Field 

Sports, i morocco. 8vo 5.00 

Thrasher, H. Hunter and Trapper. 12mo 75 

Wingate, G. W. Manual for Rifle Practice, lGmo 1.50 

Woodcraft. "Nessmuck." 12mo 1.00 



ARCHITECTURE, ETC. 

Allen, L. F. Rural Architecture 1.50 

American Cottages 5.00 

Ames. Alphabets . 1.50 

AtWOOd. Country and Suburban Houses 150 

Barn Plans and Out-Buildings 1.50 

Bell. Carpentry Made Easy 5.00 

Bicknell. Cottage and Villa Architecture 4 00 

Detail Cottage and Constructive Architecture 0.00 

Modern Architectural Designs and Details 10.00 

Public Buildings New 2.50 

Street, Store, and Bank Fronts. New 2 50 

School-House and Church Architecture 2.50 

Stables, Out-buildings, Fences, etc.. 2.50 

Brown. Building, Table and Est imate Book 150 

Burn. Drawing Books, Architectural. Illlustrated and Ornamental. 

3 Vols. Each 1.00 

Cameron. Plasterer's Manual 75 

Camp. How Can I Learn Architecture 50 

Copley. Plain and Ornamental Alphabets 300 

Cottages. Hints on Economical Building 1.00 

CummingS. Architectural Details 6.00 

Elliott. Hand Book of Practical Landscape Gardening 1.50 

Eveleth. School-House Architecture 4. 01 



O. JUDD CO.'S ALPUABETICAL CATALOGUE. 

Fuller. Artistic Homes 4.50 

Gilmore, Q. A. Roadsand Street Pavements 2.50 

Gould. American Stair-Builder's Guide 2.50 

Carpenter's and Builder's Assistant 2.50 

Hodgson. Steel Square 1.00 

Holly. Art of Saw Filing 75 

Harney. Bams, Out-Buildings, and. Fences 4.00 

Hulme. Mathematical Drawing Instruments 1.50 

HuSSey. Home Building.. 2.50 

National Cottage Architecture 4.00 

Homes for Home Builders. -Just Published. Fully Illustrated. 1.50 

Interiors and Interior Details T.50 

La key. Village and Country Houses 5.00 

Modern House Painting 5.oo 

Monckton. National Carpenter and Joiner 5.00 

National Stair Builder... 5.00 

Painter, Gilder, and Varnisher's Companion i so 

Pal User. American Cottage Homes 3.00 

Model Homes 1.00 

Useful Details 2.00 

Plummer. Carpenters' and Builders' Guide 75 

Powell. Foundations and Foundation Walls 2.00 

Reed. Cottage Houses 1.25 

House Plans for Everybody 1.50 

Dwellings 3.00 

Riddel I. Carpenter and Joiner Modernized 7.50 

■ ■ New Elements of Hand Railing 7.00 

Lessons on Hand Bailing for Learners 5.00 

Rural Church Architecture 400 

Scott. Beautiful Homes 2.50 

Tuthill. Practical Lessons in Architectural Drawing 3.00 

Weiden mann. Beautifying Country Homes. A supe.rb quarto Vol. 10.00 

Woodward. Cottages and Farm Houses 100 

Country Homes 1.00 

National Architect. Volumes 1 and 2. Each. 7.50 

Suburban and Country Houses 1.00 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

Collection of Ornaments 2.00 

Common Sea Weeds 5o 

Common Shells of the Seashore 50 

Corson, MiSS Juliet. Cooking School Text Book 1.25 

Twenty live Cent Dinners. New Edition .25 

De Voe. Market Assistant 2.50 

Dussauce. On the Manufacture of "Vinegar 5 00 

Eassie. Wood and its Uses 1.50 

Eggleston. Roxy 1.50 

Circuit Rider 1.50 

School Boy 1.00 



O. JUDD CO.'S ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE. 

EggleSton. Queer Stories 1.00 

End of the World 1.50 

Mystery of Metropoli<villc 1.50 

Hoosier Schoolmaster 1.25 

Elliott, Mrs. Housewife. New and Revised Edition 1.25 

Ewing. Hand Book of Agriculture 25 

Ferns and Ferneries. Paper 25 

Fisher. Grain Tables 40 

Fowler. Twenty Years of Inside Life in Wall Street 1.50 

Gardner. Carriage Painters' Manual 1.00 

How to Paint 1.00 

Hazard. Butter Making 25 

Household Conveniences 1.50 

How to Detect the Adulterations of Food. Paper 25 

How to Make Candy 50 

Leary. Ready Reckoner 25 

Myers. Havana Cigars... 25 

Our Farmers' Account Book 1.00 

Parloa, Miss. Cook Book 1.50 

Ropp. Commercial Calculator 60 

Scribner. Lumber and Log-Book 3"> 

Ware. The Sugar Beet 4.00 

Weston, J. Fresh Water Aquarium. Paper . .25 

Weir, Harrison. Every Day in the Country 75 

Wingate, Cen. C. W. Through the Yellowstone Park 1.50 

Williams. Ladies' Fancy Work 1.50 

Evening Amusements 1.50 

Beautiful Homes 1.50 

Ladies' Needle Work 1.00 

Artistic Embroidery 1.00 

Willard. Practical Butter Book 1.00 

Practical Dairy Husbandry 3.00 

Warne's Useful Books. Boards. With practical Illustrations : 

The Orchard and Fruit Garden. By Elizabeth Watts 50 

Vegetables and How to Grow Them. By Elizabeth Watts 50 

Cattle and their Varieties .50 ' 

The Dog and its Varieties 50 

Flowers and Flower Garden. By Elizabeth Watts 50 

Hardy Plants for Little Front Gardens.... 50 

Poultry— An Original and Practical Guide to their Management. . . .50 

The Modern Fencer. By Capt. T. Griffith 50 

The Modern Gymnast. By Charles Spencer 50 

Cattle and their Varieties and Management 75 

The Horse and its Varieties and Management 75 

Sheep and its Varieties and Management 75 

Send your address immediately on a }>ostal card for 
our 32mo. finely illustrated Catalogue of some -MO Rural 
Books, and it will be sent you FREE, by the Publishers. 

0. JUDD CO. DAVID W. JUDD, Pres't. 

751 BROADWAY NEW YORK. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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